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THE  STONE  KINGDOM 

OR  THE 

UNITED  STATES  AND  AMERICA 

AS  SEEN  BY  THE  PROPHETS. 


BY 


Rev.  S.  C.  Alexander,  A.  M. 


WE  HAVE  WRITTEN  ONLY  ON  THE  FULFILLED. 


Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words    of  this  prophecy, 
and  keep  those  things  which  are  written  therein  :  for  the 
time  is  at  hand." — Rev,  i.j. 


ST.  LOUIS: 

FARRIS,  SMITH  &  CO.  PRINT. 

IBS';. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1885,  by 

S.     C.     ALEXANDER, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.   C. 


DEDICATED 

TO 

Who  first  pointed  me  to  the  field  of  hidden  treasure,  and  said : 
"  Search  the  Scriptures  ": 

ALSO 

TO  THE  RULERS  OF  OUR  COUNTRY, 

"That  search  may  be  made  in  the  Book  of  the  records" 

of  the  nations,  and  they  "shall  tell  thee  what 

thou  oughtest  to  do." 


PREFACE. 

This  little  work  is  sent  out  in  behalf  of  the  Inspi- 
ration of  the  Bible.  Infidels  try  to  avoid  the  point  of 
the  argument,  drawn  from  the  fulfillment  of  ancient 
prophecies  about  Babylon,  Jerusalem,  Egypt,  and  scores 
of  others,  by  saying  they  were  "  fixed-up  jobs,"  away 
back  in  the  ages,  to  support  the  claims  of  Christianity. 
But  here,  in  our  own  America,  is  a  great  country,  more 
than  2500  years  removed  from  the  writers  of  prophecy, 
which  has  filled,  and  is  now  filling  the  prophetic  pro- 
gramme with  astonishing  exactness  in  numberless  par- 
ticulars, even  as  the  shadow  fits  the  substance. 

This  country,  so  far  removed  from  the  prophets,  fur- 
nishes no  possible  chance  for  collusion  or  deception. 
Prophecy  tells  us  why  this  country  was  not  discovered 
before  it  was  — "  Surely  the  isles  shall  wait  for  me  ;  " 
and  the  "  undiscovered  lands  in  the  Atlantic  "  waited 
till  the  set  time.  Prophecy  tells  us  what  nation  should 
discover  this  land,  and  open  the  way  for  immigration. 
"  The  ships  of  Tarshish — or  Spain — shall  be  first  to  bring 
thy  sons  from  afar."  And  it  was  so.  The  time  of  the 
setting  up  of  the  United  States  government  was  accu- 
rately given,  and  it  was  set  up  on  the  very  day  men- 
tioned  by   the   prophets.     Prophecy   tells   us   that  this 

V 


VI  PREFACE. 

government  should  be  set  up  in  thirteen  States.  And  it 
was  so.  Prophecy  tells  us  that  these  States  should  "  ex- 
tend from  the  sea  on  the  east  to  the  great  sea  on  the 
west."  And  it  is  so.  Prophecy  tells  us  that  this 
V  "  Stone  shall  fill  the  whole  earth."  And  is  it  not 
/  accomplishing  this  prophecy  most  wonderfully,  by  giving 
civil  and  religious  liberty  to  the  nations. 
^  The  example  of  our  country  is  a  living,  eloquent 
herald,  proclaiming  to  the  peoples,  what  they  may  be, 
and  what  they  ought  to  ht—free  men — free  from  the 
bondage  of  monarchs,  hierarchs,  and  despots  ;  and  are 
not  the  nations  hearing,  heeding,  moving  ?  The  peoples 
long  oppressed  are  now  clamoring  for  their  rights  as 
men.  The  example  of  our  providential  government, 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  "  Stone  "  is  the  dis- 
turbing cause  of  unrest  among  the  autocracies  and 
kingdoms  of  earth.  As  a  demonstration  of  this  truth, 
every  crowned  head  in  Europe  is  a  prisoner  to-day  in 
his  own  palace.  These  royalties  are  afraid  of  the 
people  :  and  well  they  may  be,  for  it  is  written,  "  The 
thrones  shall  be  cast  down." 

In  confirmation  of  these  truths,  we  quote  the  opinion 
of  John  Bright,  England's  great  Commoner,  July  2, 
1885  :  ''  The  real  interests  of  the  masses  are  trodden 
under  foot,  in  deference  to  false  notions  of  glory  and 
national  honor.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  Europe  is 
marching  towards  some  great  catastrophe  of  crushing 
weight.  The  military  system  cannot  indefinitely  be  sup- 
ported with  patience  ;  and  the  population,  driven  to 
despair,  may  possibly  before  long  sweep  away  the  royal- 


PREFACE.  VII 

ties   and   pretended    statesmen    who    govern    in   their 
names." 

Then  go  little  work,  and  tell  the  people  that  the  God 
of  prophecy  is  the  God  of  providence.  Tell  them  that 
His  plans  reach  through  all  time,  and  through  all 
countries,  and  that  they  are  daily  being  realized  in  the 
ceaseless  march  of  His  providences.  And  by  this  little 
volume  may  the  people  see  more  clearly  than  ever,  that 
"  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth,"  and  "  doeth  ac- 
cording to  His  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  ;  and  none  can  stay  His  hand, 
or  say  unto  Him,  '  What  doest  thou?' " 


->~>->^^>^^-<- 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

"  The  Scriptures  must  be  fulfilled." 13 

CHAPTER  n. 

THE   IMAGE    OF   MONARCHY. 

"The  Stone  cut  out   of  the  Mountain,"   and  its    Mission. — 
Daniel  ii 18 


CHAPTER  HI. 

A   SYMBOL   OF  THE   UNITED    STATES. 

The  Man-Child  of  the  Winged  Woman.— Rev.  xii 36 

CHAPTER  IV. 

WHERE  WILL   ISRAEL  BE   RESTORED  ? 

Or  where  will  the  Stone  Kingdom  be  set  up  ?     Answered  by 

the  Prophets 5' 

IX 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  TWO    AMERICAS, 

Or  the  "  Land  Overshadowed  with  Wings." — Isaiah  xviii ....     75 
CHAPTER  VI. 

BOUNDARIES  OF  THE  LAND   OF   ISRAEL   RESTORED,  GIVEN. 

Its  Division  into  Thirteen  States. — Ezekiel  xlvii :  xlviii. ......      88 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   CHURCH, 

And  the  Land  of  her  Restoration. — Isaiah  xlix  :   1 1-26 loi 

CHAPTER  VIH. 

THE  SETTING   UP   OF   ISRAEL   "THE   SECOND   TIME," 

Isaiah  xi :  10-16 120 

CHAPTER  IX. 

"  THE   ANCIENT   OF   DAYS." 

A  symbol  of  Israel  Restored. — Daniel  vii  :  9-27 144 


CONTENTS.  XI 


CHAPTER  X. 

"THE  WAITING     ISLES," 

Or  our  Country  Described  by  the  Prophet.— Isaiah  Ix i6o 

CHAPTER  XI. 

"BEHOLD    I    DO   A   NEW  THING," 

Or  the  Primal  Curse  RoUing  Back.— Isaiah  xHii :  18-21 194 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   STONE   KINGDOM    A   POLITICAL   POWER. 
"  SHALL   NEVER   DESTROY   ITSELF." 

Confirmed  by  one  of  the  endings  of  the  42  months,  which 
points  with  exactness  to  May  26th,  A.  D.  1865,  when  the  last 
of  the  Confederate  forces  were  surrendered 207 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

OUR   COUNTRY   AFTER   THE   PROPHETIC   PATTERN. 

And  what  our  Rulers  "  Ought  to  do." 217 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

"The  Scriptures  must  be  fulfilled." 

^N  the  study  of  the  prophecies,  there  are 
^  certain  great  principles  that  ought  to  be 
adhered  to  with  the  sacredness  of  a  divine 
injunction. 

1st.  Students  of  God's  word  should  sit  as 
children  at  the  Masters  feet,  willing  and 
anxious  to  be  taught,  but  never  attempt  to 
teach  the  Master.  This  would  be  unpardon- 
able presumption  and  impudence.  To  search 
the  Scriptures  and  to  find  out  what  the  Lord 
has  said,  is  the  duty  and  legitimate  work  of 
the  student.  "  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth 
and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  this  pro- 
phecy and  keep  those  things  which  are  writ- 
ten therein  ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand." 

2nd.  We  should  never  study  the  Word 
with  yreconceived  notions    as   to    wliat    the 

13 


14  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

Lord  ought  to  liave  said.  We  should  never 
make  up  a  verdict,  and  then  try  to  prove  its 
justness  from  a  part  of  the  testimony.  But 
first  hear  all  the  testimony  of  'pro'plieGy  and 
providence^  and  then  righteously  make  up  the 
verdict  as  the  result  of  such  testimony. 

3rd.  The  testimony  of  God's  Word  should 
never  be  ignored,  or  tioisted  from  its  true 
intent.  Either  of  these  would  be  a  great 
wrong  and  thereby  "  darken  counsel  by 
words  without  knowledge." 

4th.  Human  precedents,  however  numerous, 
great  or  learned,  should  never  be  quoted  as 
correct  or  authoritative  against  a  direct 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord."  In  other  words,  old 
ruts  through  the  swamps  of  error  should  not 
be  followed,  simply  because  they  are  old, 
when  the  Lord  hath  opened  "  anew  and  living 
way  which  He  hath  consecrated  for  us." 

5th.  In  order  to  a  correct  interpretation  of 
Old  Testament  prophecies,  a  radical  examina- 
tion of  the  Hebrew  words  is  absolutely  nec- 
essary, in  order  to  get  the  meaning  of  the 
Spirit.  And  generally  I  have  found  the  main 
root,  or  principal  meaning  of  the  word,  the 
one    that    expresses    the    true  sense    of  the 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

propliecy.     Very  rarely  a  tropical  meaning  is 
selected,  unless  it  be  in  some  minute  detail. 

Observation  1st.  I  rise  from  these  studies 
tliorouglily  confirmed  in  tlie  belief  of  tlie*^ 
ipsissima  'oerha  theory  of  insj)iration.  For 
the  prox)hets  wrote  about  and  described  things 
which  they  never  saw  realized,  and  about 
things  scores  and  thousands  of  years  ahead 
of  them,  with  astonishing  exactness.  This 
would  have  been  utterly  impossible,  had  the 
Lord  not  told  them  the  loorcls  to  write  and  ^ 
speak.  The  Bible  is  made  up  of  the  words 
of  God  ;  man  only  Avrote  them  down  or  de- 
livered them,  but  the  Spirit  told  His  prophets 
what  to  write.  The  Lord  made  the  vision 
pass  before  the  prophet,  then  He  told  him 
how  to  tell  the  vision.  This  truth  is  demon-  / 
strated  in  the  fulfillment  of  every  prophecy. 
The  astonishing  fitness  of  every  word  in  the 
prophetic  description  as  is  manifested  in  the 
fulfillment,  is  evidence  of  the  divine  origin 
of  the  words.  Especially  is  this  fact  exhib- 
ited in  some  of  those  prophecies  written  2,500 
years  ago,  and  now  fulfilled  before  our  eyes 
with  amazing  exactness.  This  is  demonstra- 
tion that  the  Bible  is  God's  Word. 


16  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

Ohservation  Qnd.  We  do  not  ask  scholars 
to  accept  our  inter^Dretation  of  these  proph- 
ecies as  correct,  until  they  are  satisfied  of 
their  truthfulness.  But  we  do  most  solemnly 
protest  against  the  publication  or  expression 
of  adverse  opinions,  until  they  also  have 
prayerfully  and  carefully  examined  every 
word  of  these  prophecies  in  the  inspired 
original:  then  if  they  can  "show  unto  you  a 
more  excellent  way,"  or  a  more  truthful  and 
consistent  interpretation  of  these  prophecies 
fulfilled,  such  a  showing  will  be  gratefully 
received. 

Observation  Srd.  The  prophecies  treated 
upon  in  this  book,  have  been  fulfilled,  or  are 
now  in  the  process  of  fulfillment.  We  have 
scrupulously  avoided  speculations  on  the 
unrealized.  Our  aim  is  to  speak  of  that  part 
of  the  divine  programme  which  is  now  history 
and  past ;  and  also  of  that  part  which  is  now 
passing. 

SOURCES     OF    INEORMATION. 

We  have  obtained  valuable  suggestions 
from  Addison  Alexander,  from  Lowtli  on  the 
prophecies,  from  Thomas  Scott.     One  sugges- 


Il^TRODUCTION.  17 

tion  from  Sir  Isaac  Newton  gave  encourage- 
ment, and  threw  light  over  the  whole  field. 
Many  hints  from  S.  D.  Baldwin,  an  independ- 
ent and  original  thinker,  have  been  valuable. 
In  fact,  he  was  a  great  man,  but  he  "  dealt 
too  much  in  futures "  and  failed.  His  dis- 
covery of  the  "  ke}^ "  to  "  the  times  "  of  the 
prophets,  in  the  word  liatliak^  "to  cut  off," 
"  to  abbreviate,"  is  absolutely  wonderful,  when 
ajDplied  to  prophecies  fulfilled,  where  he  has 
history  to  guide  him.  But  his  "  key  "  utterly 
fails  in  the  unfulfilled,  for  the  lack  of  a  guide. 
The  great  mass  of  commentators  only 
furnish  negatixe  help,  by  showing  the  unfit- 
ness and  unsatisfactoriness  of  their  exposi- 
tions of  these  prophecies  which  lead  the  mind 
to  seek  for  "  a  better  way."  But  by  far  the 
greatest  help  is  obtained  from  a  critical 
examination  of  the  inspired  words  in  the 
original.  From  them,  volumes  of  information 
and  floods  of  light  burst  uj)on  the  astonished 
mind.  The  student  there  beholds  the  grandeur 
of  truth  as  he  never  saw  it  before.  Also  like 
other  students,  I  have  kept  my  eyes  open 
and  tried  to  pick  up  information  wherever  I 
could  find  it. 


CHAPTER  11. 

THE  IMAGE  OF  MONARCHY. 

The  Stone  cut  out  of  the  Mountain"  and  its  Mission. — Dan.  ii.^ 

f-HE  novelty  of  our  subject  naturally  tends 
to  awaken  incredulity  and  to  arouse 
opposition.  Any  departure  from  the  beaten 
track  of  centuries  must  be  fortified  witli 
truth  and  armed  with  demonstration,  or  fall 
ingloriously  before  the  terrible  onset.  Pride 
of  opinion,  and  especially  religious  opinions, 
hoary  with  age,  will  muster  all  their  forces  for 
the  fray  both  real  and  imaginary.  Reason 
and  learning  will  whet  their  swords  and  burn- 
ish their  armor  for  the  conflict.     But  truth  all 


*  The  principal  part  of  chapters  IL,  III.  and  IV.,  was  first  written 
and  delivered  as  a  Lecture  on  the  "  Stone  Kingdom  "  This  was 
subsequently  enlarged  into  this  little  volume.  Its  size  coul  I  easily 
have  been  doubled,  but  the  writer  desired  only  to  unfold  a 
few  of  those  great  and  unmistakable  |  ictures  of  our  country, 
to  point  to  the  gold  "cropping  out "  on  the  surface,  and  thereby 
direct  the  Bible  student  to  rich  veins  of  unexpected  truth. 
18 


THE    IMAGE    OF    MONARCHY.  19 

alone,  like  tlie  son  of  Jesse,  conscious  of  his 
strength,  moves  forward  with  unfaltering  step 
and  hurls  with  deadly  aim  the  stones  gathered 
from  the  brook  of  revelation,  at  giant  error, 
till  he  who  had  defied  the  armies  of  Israel  an^l 
hindered  his  progress,  lies  dead  at  his  feet. 
Ridicule  and  sophistry,  clothed  in  the  Avorn- 
out  garments  of  the  cast-off  tawdry  of  sages, 
will  combine  to  laugh  at  and  to  overthrow 
that  which  history,  facts  and  argument  never 
will  attempt.  This  much  we  expect.  But  all 
we  ask  is  a  candid  hearing  of  the  testimony, 
before  your  verdict  is  rendered.  We  ask  you 
to  listen  to  facts,  not  theory — to  truth  not 
fanaticism — to  the  testimony  of  divinely  ap- 
pointed witnesses.  Then,  for  these  reasons,  I 
demand  that  you  hear  me  for  my  cause. 

There  is  a  divine  reason  assigned  why  these 
prophecies  were  not  correctly  interpreted  at 
an  earlier  period.  When  Daniel  asked  earn- 
estly to  find  out  more  about  the  revealed  pro- 
gramme of  the  nations,  the  Lord  said :  "  Go 
thy  w^ay,  Daniel,  for  the  words  are  closed  uj) 
and  sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end."  Hence 
all  those  w^onderful  prophecies  relating  to  the 
United  States,  were  not  only  closed  up,  but 


/ 


20  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

sealed,  and  that  seal  could  not  be  broken  by 
human  astuteness  or  wisdom,  until  the  time 
sj)ecified,  a  period  called  "the  time  of  the 
end."  Then  the  God  of  prophecy  and  provi- 
dence Avill  Himself  break  the  seal  and  open 
the  book.  That  j^eriod  of  "  the  time  of  the 
end"  has  arrived.  The  divine  testimony  of 
this  fact  is,  that  "  many  shall  run  to  and  fro, 
and  knowledge  shall  be  increased."  This  is 
the  inscription,  written  on  a  mile-post  let 
down  from  heaven  and  set  up  on  the  great 
highway  of  prophecy,  to  show  pilgrims  where 
they  are,  as  they  wend  their  way  along  the 
track  of  time,  and  to  tell  them  how  far  they 
are  on  their  journey.  Was  there  ever  such  a 
running  to  and  fro  since  the  world  was  made, 
or  such  an  increase  in  knowledge  as  now  is  ? 
By  this  we  know  that  the  period  of  "  the  time 
of  the  end  "  has  arrived,  and  that  the  seal  has 
been  broken,  and  the  book  has  been  opened, 
so  that,  he  that  runneth  may  read.  That 
which  once  was  profound  darkness  to  the 
great  and  learned,  may  now  be  as  clear  as 
noonday  to  children  in  the  Scriptures. 

Another  reason  why  these  wonderful  proph- 
ecies have  always  been  wrongly  interpreted, 


THE   IMAGE   OF   MONARCHY.  21 

and  a  false  and  forced  application  given  them, 
is  because  all  the  old  standard  and  accepted 
commentators,  venerable  names,  were  Euro- 
peans. They  would  place  one  leg  of  the  com 
pass  of  prophecy  in  their  own  land,  and  with 
the  other  sweep  round  the  horizon  of  the  old 
world,  and  leave  America — one- third  of  the 
earth's  surface — entirely  ou-tside.  Their  map 
of  prophecy  is  very  much  like  a  Chinese  map 
of  the  world,  in  which  the  Celestial  Empire 
occupies  the  whole  space,  except  two  little 
spots  away  up  in  the  northwest  corner  about 
the  size  of  a  dime,  to  represent  Europe  and 
America,  and  these  are  called  "  Barbarian 
Isles." 

The  eternal  plans  of  the  Great  God  extend 
from  eternity  to  eternity,  and  embrace  all  time 
and  all  things.  Is  it  probable,  therefore,  is  it^ 
reasonable  that  our  great  country,  with  its 
teeming  magnificence  —  now  the  dread  and 
glory  of  all  lands — should  have  no  place  in 
the  divine  prophecies  ?  Is  it  probable,  is  it 
reasonable  that  our  country,  with  its  scores  of 
millions  of  immortals,  and  room  for  untold 
millions  more,  where  mind  is  making  its 
grandest  triumphs  over  matter,  where  eternal 


22  THE   STONE   KIIS-GDOM. 

truth,  and  tlie  Churcli  of  the  LordJesus  Christ 
are  gaining  unprecedented  victories,  wliere 
civil  and  religious  liberty  flourish  unre- 
strained, where  time's  noblest  off'spring  brings 
her  choicest  gifts  into  the  temple  of  God — is  it 
reasonable  that  this  land  should  have  no  place 
in  the  divine  programme  of  nations,  when 
Edom  and  Moab  and  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and 
scores  of  other  places,  but  mere  specks  on  the 
earth,  whose  prophecies  now  fulfilled  are  their 
histories  ?  Yes,  our  country  now  performing, 
and  yet  destined  to  perform,  so  glorious  a  part 
in  the  drama  of  nations,  has  its  full  share  as- 
signed it,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  first  prophecy  which  we  invite  3^ou  to 
consider,  as  foretelling  the  rise  and  mission 
of  our  country,  is  the  fifth  government,  or  the 
"  Stone  Kingdom "  of  Daniel,  2nd  chapter. 
The  Bible  student  will  remember  that  the  term 
"  kingdom  "  in  the  prophecies,  is  a  convertible 
term  with  government.  In  the  dream  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, he  saw  a  great  image  whose  bright- 
ness was  excellent,  and  the  form  thereof  was 
terrible.  It  represented  all  of  monarchy  from 
that  time  henceforth.  "  This  image's  head 
was  of  fine  gold,  his  breast  and  his  arms  Avere 


THE   IMAGE    OF   MONAECHY.  23 

of  silver,  liis  belly  and  thighs  of  brass,  his 
legs  of  iron,  his  feet  part  of  iron  and  part  of 
cla}^  Thou  sawest  till  that  a  stone  was  cut 
out  witliout  hands,  which  smote  the  imao-e 
upon  his  feet,  that  were  of  iron  and  clay,  and 
brake  them  to  pieces."  The  interpretation 
of  this  dream  is.  Thou,  O  King,  art  this  head 
of  gold,  in  whom  the  Babylonian  Empire  cul- 
minated. The  two  arms  and  breast  of  silver 
represented  the  Medo-Persian  Empire  which 
culminated  in  Cyrus.  The  belly  and  thighs 
of  brass  represented  the  Macedonian  Empire, 
which  culminated  in  the  reign  of  Alexander 
the  Great.  The  legs  of  iron  represent  the 
Roman  Empire,  which  stood  for  1,000  years, 
on  the  legs  of  her  trained  legions,  and  culmi- 
nated in  the  twelve  Csesars.  Thus  far  there 
is  no  dispute.  European  and  American  ex- 
positors all  agree  in  this  interpretation.  The 
fulfillment  perfectly  coincides  with  prophecy. 
The  terrible  programme  thus  far  has  been  fully 
enacted,  amid  the  crash  of  Emj)ires,  and  the 
groans  of  millions.  "And  whereas  thou  saw- 
est the  feet  and  toes,  part  of  potter's  clay  and 
part  of  iron,  the  kingdom  shall  be  divided, 
but  there   shall  be  in  it  of  the   strength  of 


24  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

the  iron,  forasmucli  as  tlion  sawest  tlie  iron 

mixed  with  miry   clay.     And  as  the  toes  of 

the  feet  were  part  of  iron  and  part  of  clay,  so 

the  kingdom  shall  be  partly  strong  and  partly 

broken."     The  feet  and  toe  governments  were 

formed  out  of  the  territory  which  the  legs  of 

iron,  or  Roman  Empire,  stood  upon.     And  as 

the  toes  grew  out,  a  new  element  of  weakness 

was  incorporated  with  them — iron  mixed  with 

miry  clay.     So  that  their  governments  were 

partly  strong  and  partly  broken.     This  we 

think  forcefully  represents  the  Union  of  Church 

and  State.     As  there  can  be  no  chemical  amal- 

"^  gam  between  clay  and  iron,  so  there  never  has 

been,  and  never  can  be,  any  happy  and  j)roS' 

perous    union    between    Churcli    and    State. 

"  Whereas  thou  sawest  iron  mixed  with  miry 

clay — tliey  shall  mingle  themselves  with  the 

seed  of  men — but  they  shall  not  cleave  one 

to  another,  even   as   iron  is  not  mixed  with 

clav."   Here  we  have  a  plain  statement  that 
■\      "  ..... 

a  superior  order  of  men,  will  join  an  inferior 

order — or  the  Church  shall  be  joined  to  the 

State.    Such  a  government  must,  from  its  want 

of  cohesion,  from  lack  of  affinity  between  its 

j)arts,  and  great  dissimilarity,  from  its  per- 


THE   IMAGE    OF   MONAROHY.  ,   25 

version  of  the  ends  of  one,  and  tlie  prosti- 
tution of  the  aims  of  the  other,  always  be 
partly  strong  and  partly  broken,  a  politico- 
ecclesiastical  concubinage  that  would  curse 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  These  toe  govern-v 
ments  and  their  successors,  as  represented  in 
the  image  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  have  stood  for 
many  centuries,  and  are  still  standing  in  the 
territory  of  monarchy  and  absolutism,  and 
still  continue  the  illegitimate  and  unnatural 
union  of  iron  and  miry  clay,  still  cramj)ing 
freedom  of  thought  and  the  progress  of  truth, 
and  still  hindering  the  growth  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  Such  is  the  image  of  mon- 
archy, and  its  interpretation. 

It  is  necessary  to  the  j)roper  understanding 
of  the  fifth  government  or  Stone  Kingdom  and 
its  great  mission,  to  read  what  saith  the  Lord. 
Dan.  ii:  34,  35.  "Thou  sawest  till  that  a 
stone  was  cut  out  without  hands,  which  smote 
the  image  uj)on  his  feet,  that  were  of  iron  and 
clay,  and  brake  them  to  pieces.  Then  was 
the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass,  the  silver  and  the 
gold  broken  to  pieces  together,  and  became 
like  the  chaif  of  the  summer  threshing-floors, 
and  the  wind  carried  them  away,  that  no  place 


26  THE   STONE   KIIS^GDOM. 

Avas  found  for  tliem.  And  the  stone  that  smote 
the  image  became  a  great  mountain  and  filled 
the  whole  earth."  The  interpretation  of  this 
sublime  symbol  was  revealed  to  Daniel,  chap, 
ii :  44, 45.  "And  in  the  days  of  these  kings,  shall 
the  God  of  heaven  set  u]3  a  kingdom,  which 
shall  never  be  destroyed,  and  the  kingdom  shall 
not  be  left  to  other  2)eople,  but  it  shall  break 
in  pieces,  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms, 
and  it  shall  stand  forever.  Forasmuch  as 
thou  sawest  that  the  stone  was  cut  out  of  the 
mountain  without  hands,  and  that  it  brake  in 
pieces  the  iron,  the  brass,  the  clay,  the  silver 
and  the  gold,  the  great  God  hath  made  known 
to  the  king  what  shall  come  to  pass  hereafter ; 
and  the  dream  is  certain,  and  the  interpre- 
tation thereof  sure." 

"  In  the  days  of  these  kings,  shall  the  God 
of  heaven  set  up  a  kiDgdom."  What  king- 
dom has  the  God  of  heaven  set  up?  Almost 
all  European  commentators  say  it  was  the 
setting  up  of  Christianity.  But  this  cannot 
be  the  meaning  of  the  j)ropliet,  for  four  rea- 
sons:  1st.  Because  the  kingdom  or  govern- 
ment to  be  set  up,  was  to  be  set  up  "in  the 
days  of    these   kings " — these  ten-toe   kings. 


THE   IMAGE   OF   MOT^ARCHY.  27 

But  Christianity  was  set  up  in  the  reign  of 
one  'king— one  Augustus  Csesar.  Therefore 
this  old  interpretation  will  not  fit  the  time, 
and  of  course  cannot  be  true.  2nd.  The  Stone 
Kingdom  did  not  rise  in  the  proper  place  for 
Christianity.  Jesus  w^as  Iborn  in  Bethlehem 
of  Judea,  at  that  time  a  Roman  province. 
But  the  Stone  Kingdom  was  to  he  set  up 
entirely  outside  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
outside  of  all  her  subsequent  ten-toe  king- 
doms. It  was  to  strike  from  without,  upon 
the  image  of  monarchy.  It  was  to  be  hurled 
with  mighty  force  against  the  feet  of  the 
image  and  crush  it  to  atoms,  so  that  it  would 
fly  like  chaff  before  the  winds  of  the  summer 
threshing  floors.  3rd.  The  Stone  Kingdom 
could  not  have  been  set  up  at  the  time  Chris- 
tianity arose,  for  then  the  Romans  claimed 
all  the  known  world:  ''There  went  out  a 
decree  from  C^sar  Augustus,  that  all  the 
world  should  be  taxed."  But  there  was  a 
land,  my  countrymen,  ''where  the  Roman 
cohorts  were  never  marshalled."  A  land 
which  the  God  of  providence  had  concealed 
from  Rome's  cupidity  and  her  conquering 
armies.     That  land  is  our  own  America.     The 


28  THE   STONE  KINGDOM. 

only  portion  of  tlie  globe  that  suits,  in  every 
repect,  the  rise  of  the  23romised,  great  nation- 
ality^ that  fully  meets  the  geography,  ^^lace, 
and  time  of  the  fifth  kingdom  which  the  God 
of  heaven  would  "  set  up."  4th.  The  king- 
dom of  Christ  is  a  s])iTitiial  power,  and  con- 
quers by  love.  But  the  Stone  Kingdom  was 
to  be  clothed  with  great  political  and  military 
power,  and  the  enginery  of  battle,  to  crush, 
to  destroy,  and  to  break  to  pieces  the  nations 
of  earth  that  oppose  its  progress.  For  this 
and  all  these  reasons,  it  is  perfectly  clear 
that  Christianity  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  the 
Stone  Kingdom. 

But  this  fifth  government  is  to  be  a  great 
Christian  E-epublic,  where  Church  and  State 
are  each  independent,  and  yet  each  dependentj 
where  each  enjoys  the  largest  degree  of 
liberty  consistent  with  conscience  and  right, 
where  the  Church  may  put  on  her  beautiful 
garments  and  shine  forth  in  all  her  glory, 
where  every  man  may  worship  God  according 
to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience  and  none 
dare  disturb  him  or  make  him  afraid.  This 
land,  my  countrymen,  is  yours,  wdiich  God 
gave  to  our  fathers  and  to  us. 


THE    IMAGE   CF    MONARCHY.  29 

Let  US  examine  more  definitely  as  to  the 
time  of  the  setting  up  of  the  Stone  Kingdom. 
It  will  be,  Dan.  xii :  7,  when  "  the  power  of 
the  holy  people,"  or  the  friends  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty  "  shall  cease  to  be  scattered," 
when  "  many  shall  run  to  and  fro  and  knowl- 
edge shall  be  increased,"  when  ''the  time  of  . 
the  end "  shall  come :  then  Avill  the  Stone 
Kingdom,  or  fifth  nationality,  be  set  up. 

In  Dan.  xii :  7,  it  is  said  that  it  will  be  "  a 
time,  times  and  an  half"  from  the  taking  away 
of  the  daily  sacrifice,  or  from  the  burning  of 
the  Temple  by  the  Romans  under  Titus,  when, 
after  1,260  symbolic  years,  from  this  date, 
during  which  the  persecuting  power  shall  have 
accomplished  to  scatter  the  power  of  the  holy 
people,  all  these  things  shall  be  finished.  Now 
the  burning  of  the  Temple  occurred,  according 
to'the  most  accurate  calculation,  on  the  189th 
day  of  A.  D.  68.  From  this  date  onward, 
1,260  prophetic  days  or  years  will  bring  us  to 
the  beginning  of  "  the  time  of  the  end,"  or  the 
setting  up  of  the  Stone  Kingdom.  Now  how 
to  count  this  time  accurately,  or  satisfactorily, 
has  been  the  problem  of  ages.  But  we  think 
the  key  has  been  discovered.     The  words  that 


30  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

were  closed  up  and  sealed  so  long,  are  now 
opened  and  the  seal  broken.  The  Lord 
sealed  np  this  knowledge  until  "the  time  of 
the  end,"  a  period  that  would  be  signalized 
by  great  locomotion  and  amazing  increase  in 
knowledge.  IN'ow  since  the  time  of  the  end 
has  come,  God  in  His  providence,  has  broken 
the  seal  and  given  us  the  long  hidden  "key  " 
to  the  times  of  the  prophecies.  This  key  is 
found  in  the  70  weeks  of  Daniel,  Chap.  ix. 
"  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  tli}^ 
people  and  upon  thy  holy  cit}^,"  etc.  The 
word  translated  determined  in  Hebrew  is 
neclitack  from  the  root  liatliak  which  means 
to  "cut  off,  to  abbreviate,  to  shorten."  Then 
the  70  weeks  are  "cut  off"  or  abbreviated 
time,  to  which  sacred  time  must  be  added, 
to  fill  ont  to  solar  time.  These  70  weeks 
are  to  begin  at  the  time  Cyrus  gave  the  com- 
mandment to  restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem. 
This  decree  was  published  in  the  last  month 
of  the  year  537  B.  C,  about  December  6th,  as 
ascertained  by  historic  records  and  also  by 
an  eclipse  of  the  sun  predicted  by  Tliales  of 
Miletus.  The  crucifixion  of  Christ  occurred 
on  March  25,   A.  D.   29    (vulgar  era.)     This 


THE   IMAGE   OF   MONARCHY.  31 

date  is  also  ascertained  by  historic  records, 
and  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  from  which  dates 
are  reckoned.  The  70  weeks  have  two  end- 
ings, one  at  the  crucifixion  of  Messiah,  and 
the  other  at  the  burning  of  the  Temple  and 
destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

Let  us  see  how  this  calculation  is  made. 
The  70  weeks  are  70  weeks  of  years,  or  490 
years.  Add  one-seventh  for  sabbatic  time, 
and  we  have  560  symbolic  years  of  360  parts. 
And  since  a  symbolic  year  may  stand  for  any 
Hebrew  year  of  3"ears,  it  may  stand  for  one 
of  364  parts.  Then  we  have  the  equation  360: 
364::  560:566f  years  composed  of  364  days 
each.  Now,  reduce  this  to  solar  time  of  365 
days,  5 'hours,  48  minutes  and  47iV  seconds  ; 
and  we  have  exactly  564  years  and  109  days, 
as  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  shows,  from 
the  decree  of  Cyrus  "  to  restore  and  build 
Jerusalem  "  to  the  crucifixion  of  Christ.  The 
other  ending,  is  to  be  at  the  burning  of  the 
Temple  and  the  taking  away  of  the  daily  sac- 
rifice. This  may  be  found  by  several  differ- 
ent calculations,  but  one  is  sufficient,  and  is 
as  follows.  Forty- two  weeks  may  re|)resent 
an  abbreviated   Hebrew   year   of  364  parts. 


32  THE   STOiN-E   KINGDOM. 

Then  we  liave  the  following  equation  42: 
364::70:606|.  The  text  gives  no  intima- 
tion of  what  Ivind  of  a  year  the  70  weeks  Avere 
to  be  realized  in.  That  only  can  be  deter- 
mined by  the  fulfillment.  Then  as  366  days 
make  the  longest  year,  w^e  will  try  it  and  see. 
By  reducing  the  606J  symbolic  years,  to 
solar  time,  we  have  the  following:  366:364:: 
6061=603  years  and  129  days — the  exact 
solar  time  from  the  decree  of  Cyrus  to  the 
burning  of  the  Temple,  and  taking  away  of 
the  daily  sacrifice.  A  part  of  a  Hebrew  day 
is  taken  for  a  whole. 

Having  found  the  key  by  which  to  solve  the 
"time,  times  and  an  half,"  or  the  1,260  days — 
the  length  of  time  that  lies  between  the  burning 
of  the  Temple  and  the  setting  up  of  the  Stone 
Kingdom,  w^e  proceed,  thus :  3^  times  is  equal 
to  1,260  symbolic  years:  to  this  we  add  j-  or 
sabbatic  time,  which  is  equal  to  1,440 :  again, 
add  to  this  result  Sabbath  day  time  or  ^,  and 
we  have  1,680.  Now,  since  360  may  represent 
any  Hebrew  year,  it  may  represent  the  year 
of  366  days,  then  we  have  the  equation  360: 
366::  1,680=1 ,708     years     or     623,833     days. 


THE   IMAGE   OF   MONARCHY.  83 

whicli,  added  to  tlie  189tli  day  of  the  year 
A.  D.  68,  when  the  Temple  was  burned,  brings 
us  down  exactly  to  July  4,  1776,  when  "a  ^ 
nation  was  born  in  a  day,"  when  the  Stone 
Kingdom  was  set  up,  when  our  own  great  ^ 
nationality  began,  when  the  United  States 
declared  themselves  independent,  threw  off 
the  yoke  of  tyranny,  and  put  absolutism 
under  foot.  This  marks  the  beginning  of 
"  the  time  of  the  end,"  when  civil  and  relig- 
ious liberty  would  begin  their  growth,  to  bless 
the  crushed  millions  of  earth.  These  figures 
are  astonishing.  These  facts  are  startling,  ^<^^'' 
and  the  truths  brought  out  are  grandly  sub- 
lime. As  the  four  great  empires,  represented 
in  the  image  of  monarchy,  must  be  succeeded 
by  a  fifth  government,  entirely  different  in 
character,  and  as  the  United  States  of 
America  is  the  only  great  nation  that  ever  has 
risen,  or  ever  can  rise,  to  fill  the  great  mission 
of  the  fifth  government  as  to  U77ie,  geograrpliy, 
and  character,  we  are  forced  to  the  inevitable 
conclusion  that  our  glorious  Christian  Repub- 
lic is  the  Stone  Kingdom  that  "  the  God  of 
heaven  should  set  up." 


34  THE   STON^E   KINGDOM. 

Bishop  Berkeley,  of  Ireland,  about  200 
years  ago,  seemed  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
coming  kingdom,  when  he  wrote — 

"  Westward  the  star  of  empire  makes  its  way  : 
The  first  four  acts  are  already  past, 
The  fifdi  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day  ; 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 

"Next,  observe  that  the  Stone  "  smote  the 
image  upon  his  feet,"  Dan.  ii :  34.  And 
"the  kingdom  shall  be  divided."  "And  as 
the  toes  of  the  feet  were  part  of  iron  and  part 
of  clay,"  there  could  be  no  possible  amalgam 
between  the  iron  and  the  clay.  "  TJiey  shall 
mingle  themselves  with  the  seed  of  men."  A 
higher  order  of  men  shall  be  joined  to  an 
inferior  order.  In  other  words,  the  Church 
shall  be  joined  to  the  State.  "  But  they  shall 
not  cleave  one  to  another,  even  as  iron  is  not 
mixed  with  clay."  It  is  upon  this  divided 
part,  or  upon  the  ten- toe  kingdoms  of  Church 
and  State,  which  is  "  partly  strong  and  partly 
broken,"  that  the  Stone  is  to  strike  with 
crushing  effect.  The  chief  mission  of  this 
great  fifth  nationality,  is  the  utter  destruction 
of  Church  and  State  union,  as  well  as  all 
ecclesiastical   and  political    despotism,  from 


THE   IMAGE   OF   MONARCHY.  35 

tlie  face  of  tlie  earth.  Does  not  the  constitu- 
tion of  our  government  forever  separate  be- 
tween Church  and  State  ?  And  however  much 
our  people  may  be  divided  on  political  mat- 
ters, tliey  are  unanimously  and  forever 
opposed  to  Church  and  State  union.  And 
does  not  the  whole  genius,  historj^  and  charac- 
ter of  our  people  exactly  meet  the  require- 
ments and  character  of  the  Stone  Kinoxlom  ? 
The  chronology  of  our  government  exactly 
synchronizes  with  the  Stone,  Dan.  ii :  44. 
'^  In  the  days  of  these  kings  "  of  the  ten-toe 
kingdoms,  "  the  God  of  heaven  shall  set  up  a 
kingdom"  or  government.  Our  own  United^ 
States,  and  no  other  nation  on  earth,  was  set 
up  in  the  time  specified^  and  capable  of  doing 
the  work  assigned  to  the  Stone  Government 
Avhich  was  cut  out  of  the  mountain  of  Chris- 
tianity. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  SYMBOL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  Man-Child  of  the  Winged  Woman. — Rev.  xii. 

^N  order  to  confirm  the  wonderful  truths  in 
^  the  preceding  chapter,  let  us  examine 
and  see  how  astonishingly  the  Man-Cliild  of 
the  winged  woman  in  the  wilderness,  sym- 
bolizes the  United  States. 

Rev.  xii:  "And  there  appeared  a  great 
wonder  in  heaven,  a  woman  clothed  with  the 
sun  and  the  moon  under  her  feet,  and  upon 
her  head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars.  And  she 
being  with  child  cried,  travailing  in  birth 
and  pained  to  be  delivered.  And  there 
appeared  another  wonder  in  heaven,  and  be- 
hold, a  great  red  dragon  having  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns    and   seven    crowns  uj)on   his 

heads And  the   dragon   stood 

before  the  woman,  which  was  ready  to  be 
delivered,  to  devour  her  child,  as  soon  as  it 


THE   UNITED   STATES.  37 

was  born.  And  she  brought  forth  a  Man-^ 
Child  who  was  to  rule  all  nations  with  a  rod 
of  iron,  and  her  child  was  caught  up  unto 
Grod  and  to  His  throne.  .  .  .  And  to  the 
woman  were  given  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle 
that  she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness  into 
her  place  ;  where  she  is  nourished  for  a  time 
and  times  and  half  a  time  from  the  face  of 
the  serpent.  And  the  serpent  cast  out  of  his 
mouth  water  as  a  flood  after  the  woman,  that 
he  might  cause  her  to  be  carried  away  of  the 
flood ;  and  the  earth  helped  the  woman  and 
the  earth  opened  her  mouth  and  swallowed 
up  the  flood  which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his 
mouth,  and  the  dragon  was  wroth  with  the 
woman,"  etc.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  / 
Church  of  Christ  is  represented  by  the  woman 
in  this  symbol.  And  the  Man-Child  is  the^ 
off'spring  of  the  Church,  and  symbolizes  a 
great  Christian  nationality  that  was  to  be  a  . 
child  of  the  wonderful  providence  of  Almighty 
God,  to  whom  an  iron  rod  was  given  to  rule 
all  nations.  Here  we  are  reminded  of  the 
crushing  of  the  stone.  Ruling  with  "  a  rod 
of  iron,"  is  emblematic  of  great  political 
power. 


88  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

The  birtli  of  the  Man-Child  after  long  tra- 
vail and  distressing  pains,  most  graphically 
represents  the  birth  of  the  United  States. 
This  interpretation  seems  to  accord  with  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah.  "Before  she  travailed, 
she  brought  forth,  before  her  pain  came  she 
was  delivered  of  a  Man-Child.  Who  hath 
heard  such  things  ?  Who  hath  seen  such 
things?  Shall  the  earth  be  made  to  bring 
forth  in  one  day  ?  Or  shall  a  nation  be  born 
at  once  ?  for  as  soon  as  Zion  travailed  she 
brought  forth."  The  term  "  Zion  "  means  the 
Church  of  God,  and  fixes  the  symbolic  mean- 
ing of  the  "woman  clothed  with  the  sun."  And 
the  Man-Child  is  in  apposition  to  "  a  nation 
born  at  once."  Does  not  this  wonderful 
symbol  in  Revelation  most  graphically  fore- 
shadow the  rise  of  our  nationality  ?  1st.  The 
Man-Child  was  the  offspring  of  enlightened 
religion.  2nd.  Its  destruction  was  deter- 
mined upon  by  the  great  red  dragon  of  despot- 
ism. 3rd.  A  "rod  of  iron"  or  political 
authority  was  given  to  the  Man-Child  to  rule. 
4th.  The  Man-Child  and  his  mother  were 
helped  by  the  "  earth  "  (that  part  of  the  earth 
covered  by  the  old  Roman  Empire  is  called  in 


THE  UTTITED   STATES.  39 

prophecy  the  "  EartlV')  when  floods  of  ar- 
mies were  ready  to  sweep  the  Man-Child  into 
destruction.  The  "  earth,"  or  that  part  of  the 
old  Roman  Empire,  now  occupied  hy  Spain 
and  Holland,  wanged  war  with  Egland,  at  the 
time  of  the  birth  of  the  Man-Child,  and  swal- 
lowed up  much  of  the  flood  of  the  armies  and 
thereby  helped  the  woman.  While  France 
came  directly  to  our  assistance,  and  Russia 
declared  neutrality.  Thus  in  various  ways  v/ 
the  "  earth  "  helped  the  woman,  and  the  Man- 
Child  was  rescued.  5th.  "  The  Child  was 
caught  up  to  the  throne  of  God,"  means  that 
the  wonderful  providence  of  God  was  mani- 
fested towards  our  new-born  nation — almost 
without  arms,  without  resources,  without 
money.  The  God  of  providence  and  the  God 
of  battles  gave  us  the  victory.  Truly  the 
God  of  Washington  was  on  our  side,  and  the 
Man-Child  or  the  United  States  was  not 
destroyed,  but  now  lives  to  bless  the  nations 
of  earth.  It  opens  a  wide  door  for  and  wel- 
comes the  oppressed  of  all  lands  to  a  home  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  coincidences 
between  the  Man-Child  and  the  rise  of  the 
United  States  are  so  numerous  and  so  won- 


40  THE   STOXE   KINGDOM. 

derfuUy  accurate,  that   tlie    conclusion  is   a 
forceful  demonstration. 

This    "  great   wonder "   that  John   saw,    is 
'/almost  a  photographic  likeness  of  the  Church 
and  our  country. 

1st.  The  ''  sun  "  is  a  symbol  of  civil  gov- 
ernment, exercising  superior  power.  See  Gen. 
xxxvii  :  9 ;  Ps.  Ixxxix  :  36 ;  Isa.  Ix  :  20 ; 
Jer.  XV :  9 ;  etc.  So  does  the  government  of 
the  United  States  exercise  a  superior  or  con- 
trolling power  over  the  States. 

2nd.  The  "twelve  stars"  also  represent 
governments  shining  in  connection  with  the 
sun.  Notice  here  the  striking  likeness  of  the 
symbol  that  there  were  "  twelve  patriarchs," 
and  twelve  Jewish  tribes  often  called  "  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  But  every  one 
knows  there  were  thirteen  patriarchs  and 
thirteen  tribes  of  Israel.  There  were  twelve 
apostles,  often  so  called,  but  it  is  a  fact,  there 
were  thirteen  apostles — Paul  was  the  thir- 
teenth and  the  greatest.  So  there  were 
"  twelve  stars "  or  States  in  the  woman's 
crown.  And  when  William  Penn  surrendered 
that  part  of  the  charter  of  Delaware  in  1703, 
so  that  he  allowed  Pennsylvania  and  Dela- 


HIE   UNITED   STATES.  41 

ware  separate  organizations,  but  still  were 
united  under  tlie  same  proprietary  until  1776, 
then  there  were  also  thirteen  States  that 
adorned  the  woman's  crown,  on  the  great  day 
of  Declaration :  corresponding  to  the  thirteen 
tribes  of  ancient  Israel.     See  Ezek.  xlviii. 

3rd.  "  And  upon  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve 
stars."  A  '"crown"  is  a  symbol  of  executive 
authority ;  and  is  so  accepted  and  acknowl- 
edged among  the  nations.  It  represents  the 
ruling  and  controlling  power  in  civil  govern- 
ment. So  that  the  "crown  of  twelve  stars," 
or  thirteen  States,  as  we  have  shown,  was 
an  ornament  to  the  woman  and  gave  to  her 
beauty  and  power  under  executive  authority. 
It  was  a  symbol  of  her  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence, and  not  of  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion. This  "  crown  "  was  not  a  part  of  the 
woman ;  it  was  separate  and  distinct  from 
her ;  but  was  only  a  part  of  her  adornment 
with  which  she  was  "  clothed."  So  that  in, 
through,  and  under  this  "crown"  of  protec- 
tion, she  could  more  effectively  accomplish 
her  great  mission. 

We  all  know  that  the  government  of  the/ 
United  States  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  Bible 


42  THE  STOKE   KINGDOM. 

and  is  a  patron,  friend,  and  protector  of  true 
religion.  Yet  wliile  tlie  Church  and  State  are 
entirely  separate,  the  "  crown "  represents 
our  civil  government,  and  is  a  perpetual  pro- 
tection to  the  Church  in  her  spiritual  work  of 
moral  elevation  and  enlightenment  of  the 
masses,  and  in  her  work  of  giving  liberty  to 
the  nations. 

4th.  "  A  woman "  in  symbolic  language 
represents  a  system  of  religion  or  Church. 
And  since  this  "  great  wonder"  that  appeared 
in  heaven,  was  a  woman  with  "  the  moon 
under  her  feet,"  we  are  not  left  in  uncertainty 
about  its  meaning.  The  Cliurch  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  graphically  symbolized.  As 
the  life  of  this  symbol  was  "  the  woman  ";  so 
tlie  life  of  the  government  represented  by  her 
symbolic  crown,  is  tlie  religion  of  the  Bible, 
or  the  Cliurch  of  the  Messiah.  The  Bible, 
with  its  life  and  liberty,  forms  the  great 
corner-stone  of  our  body  politic.  Upon  its 
laws  and  principles  of  eternal  truth  and  right 
stands  the  grand  fabric  of  our  government. 

5tli.  "  The  woman  fled  into  the  wilderness 
for  1,260  days  "  or  symbolic  years.  And  so 
it  came  to  pass  that  the  Church  was  under 


THE  tlNlTED   STATES.  43 

persecuting  powers  for  that  length  of  time. 
Tlie  1,260  symbolic  years  reduced  to  solar 
time  is  exactly  1,451  years  and  17  days — fill- 
ing up  the  space  exactly  between  the  time 
that  Constantine  the  Great  took  the  political 
headship  of  the  Church,  June  17,  325  A.  B.,  y 
to  July  4,  1776,  when  the  Man-Oliild  was 
born,  or  "a  nation  was  born  in  a  day."  That 
was  the  birthday  of  the  United  States.  On 
that  day  "  the  woman  "  came  out  of  the  wil- 
derness, came  out  from  the  dens  and  caves 
where  she  had  been  hiding  for  so  many  cen- 
turies from  her  persecutors  and  destroyers. 
Thank  God,  the  Church  will  no  more  be  com-  ^ 
pelled  to  fly  into  the  wilderness  to  hide  from 
her  bloody  pursuers.  The  days  of  the  Inqui- 
sition and  Martyrdom  are  past.  The  Man-  , 
Child  or  this  great  government,  the  offspring 
of  the  Church,  will  forever  defend  its  mother. 
Its  constitution,  its  oaths  and  promises,  yea 
its  very  nature  compels  it  to  defend  the  prin- 
ciples of  eternal  truth  and  right  against  all 
the  combined  powers  of  darkness. 

6th.  "  The  great  red  dragon  "  of  despotism 
stood  before  the  woman  to  devour  the  Man" 
Child    as    soon    as    it    was    born.     But    the 


44  THE   STONE   KIN"aDOM. 

Almighty  providence  of  God  defended  it,  and 
saved  its  life.  It  is  now  a  young  man  of  an 
hundred  years,  full  of  strength  and  increasing 
power;  and  has  already  become  the  dread 
and  glory  of  the  nations  and  the  hope  of  the 
world. 

7th.  "  And  there  was  war  in  heaven,"  i.  e., 
the  place  of  the  Church.  "Michael  and  his 
angels  fought  against  the  dragon;  and  the 
dragon  fought  and  his  angels."  Michael  is 
the  type  and  leader  of  the  angelic  hosts  bat- 
tling in  God's  name  against  the  power  of 
Satan.  He  was  the  guardian  of  the  Jewish 
people  in  their  antagonism  to  godless  power 
and  heathenism.  So  here,  in  this  prophecy 
he  is  represented  with  his  angels  as  standing 
up  with  God's  people,  the  friends  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  and  fighting  against  the 
"great  red  dragon"  of  despotism  and  their 
forces  in  the  dreadful  eifort  to  destroy  the 
Man-Child  or  the  establishment  of  the  United 
States  Government.  "But  they  prevailed 
not ;  neither  was  their  place  found  any  more 
in  heaven,"  or  in  the  place  of  the  Church. 
Despotic  power  was  entirely  overthrown  in 
this  government,  never  to  be  exercised  here 


THE   UNITED   STATES.  45 

any  more.  When  our  forefathers  gained  the 
victory  over  tyranny  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  there  was  unequaled  rejoicing  all  over 
our  country  and  among  oppressed  Christians 
in  other  lands.  I  have  no  doubt  it  was  this 
grand  shout  of  thanksgiving  and  praise  that 
John  heard,  when  he  heard  them  saying, 
"  Now  is  come  salvation  and  strength  and  the 
kingdom  of  our  Grod,  and  the  power  of  his 
Christ."  This  shout  would  have  been  nothing  ^ 
in  itself,  but  it  was  the  beginning  of  that  vic- 
tory which  God's  people  are  to  gain  over  the 
despotic  powers  of  earth,  and  it  is  to  extend 
from  nation  to  nation,  until  the  kingdoms  of 
this  world  are  declared  to  be  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ.  Tlie  reason  of  /v 
tliis  great  rejoicing  and  shouting  of  triumph 
was  because, 

8th.  "  The  acGuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast 
down,  which  accused  them  before  our  Lord 
day  and  night."  Ecclesiastical  liierarchy  and/ 
civil  despotism  went  hand  in  hand  for  more 
than  a  thousand  3^ears.  The  hierarchy  only 
had  to  accuse  God's  j)eople  to  the  civil  mag- 
istrate, of  Protestantism,  or  simply  noncon- 
formity to  any  of  their  slavish  superstitions, 


46"  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

wlien  the  severest  penalties  were  inflicted. 
Times  Avitlioiit  number  blood  flowed,  and 
martyrs  Avere  crowned.  Millions  and  millions 
perished  in  this  manner.  No  wonder  that 
heaven  and  earth  shouted  together,  "  when 
the  accuser  of  our  brethren  Avas  cast  down." 
When  "  the  time  of  the  end"  came,  such  ter- 
rible cruelty  to  God's  people  could  no  longer 
be  practiced.  These  are  only  some  of  the 
coincidences  which  the  careful  student  may 
find  between  the  symbol  of  the  Man- Child 
and  the  United  States. 

There  is  only  one  serious  difficulty  in 
understanding  this  symbol,  and  that  vanishes 
before  the  light  of  fulfillment,  viz :  the  birth 
of  the  Man-child  is  put  he  fore  the  flight  of 
the  woman  into  the  wilderness,  instead  of 
afterwards.  This  puzzled  commentators  all 
through  the  interdicted  ages.  But  this  is  now 
only  a  seeming  difficulty,  and  not  real.  The 
Lord  had  sealed  up  the  vision  until  "  the  time 
of  the  end."  And  if  the  chronology  of  this 
symbol  had  been  strictly  and  consecutively 
followed,  then  the  seal  would  have  been 
opened,  and  that  would  all  have  been  plain 
hundreds  of  years   ago,  which  the  Lord  did 


THE   UNITED   STATES.  47 

not  intend  to  be  known  and  understood  ariulit, 
until  "  the  time  of  the  end."  Now  it  is  as 
clear  as  the  noonday,  so  that  he  that  runneth 
may  read.  "And  there  was  Avar  in  heaven,"  / 
does  not  mean  in  the  third  heaven,  but  the 
place  j^rovided  for  the  Church  and  the  friends 
of  human  liberty.  "  Michael  and  his  angels 
fought  against  the  dragon ;  and  the  dragon 
fought,  and  his  angels,  and  prevailed  not." 
This  is  graphic,  symbolic  language,  to  repre-  y 
sent  the  terrible  conflict  that  was  waged 
between  the  Man- Child  and  his  friends,  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  dragon  of  despotism 
and  his  forces,  on  the  other  side  ;  as  was  fear- 
fully manifested  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
Avliich  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  Ameri- 
can independence,  and  the  development  of  the 
Man-Chihl  of  the  United  States.  Take  away 
the  gorgeous  symbolism  of  spiritual  conflict, 
and  we  have  the  plain  history  of  the  war  our 
fathers  waged  for  human  liberty  and  eternal 
right.  This  must  be  the  correct  interjjre- 
tation,  for  there  can  be  no  war  in  the  tlilrd 
heaven.  No  dragons,  no  devils,  are  there — 
no,  no — pJl  there  is  joy  and  peace  forever 
and  ever. 


•  y 


48  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

IS'ow  let  US  see  what  facts  figures  can  tell 
us  about  tills  "  wonder  in  heaven "  which 
John  saw.  "  The  woman,"  or  the  Church  of 
God,  fled  into  the  wilderness  for  a  time,  times 
and  an  half,  or  for  1,260  days,  or  years.  What 
was  the  occasion  of  tliis  flight  ?  Was  it  not 
the  union  of  Church  and  State,  or  when  an 
earthly  potentate  was  made  head  of  the 
Church,  instead  of  having  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  for  head.  When  did  this  accursed 
politico  -  ecclesiastical  concubinage  begin  ? 
Was  it  not  at  the  Council  of  Mce,  in  Bi- 
tynia,  June  17th  A.  D.  325,  when  the  Chris- 
tian religion  was  made  the  religion  of  the 
Eastern  and  Western  Empires,  under  the  reign 
of  Constantino  the  Great.  This  at  first  seemed 
a  God-send  to  the  Church,  but  soon  the  beau- 
tiful simplicity  of  the  Cliurch  was  lost  in 
pompons  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  in  worldly 
honors  and  emoluments  under  imperial  patron- 
age, and  soon  the  outside  kingdom  of  Clirist 
was  converted  into  a  kingdom  of  tliis  world. 
It  was  then  the  woman  fled  into  the  wilder- 
ness, where  she  was  "  nourished  "  in  hidden 
and  retired  places  for  1,260  symbolic  years. 
It  was  then  again  in  the  wilderness  that  she 


THE   UI^ITED   STATES.  49 

had  "trial  of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgmgs, 
of  bonds  and  imprisonment."  It  was  tlien 
again  "  tliey  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted, 
were  slain  witli  the  sword,  they  wandered 
about  in  sheep-skins,  and  goat-skins,  being 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented,  they  wandered 
in  deserts  and  in  mountains  and  in  dens,  and 
caves  of  the  earth,"  until  tlie  Man- Child  was 
born.  Long  had  the  mother  travailed  in  pain 
to  be  delivered,  and  at  last  the  glorious  de- 
liverance came.  It  was  exactly  at  the  time 
appointed,  at  the  end  of  "  the  time,  times  and 
an  half,"  or  1,260  symbolic  j^ears — '''neclitack^^ 
cut-off,  or  abbreviated  years. 

Let  us  count  and  see.  The  70  weeks  of 
Daniel  furnishes  us  the  key.  360  always 
represents  a  prophetic  year.  It  may  repre- 
sent a  Hebrew  year  of  364  parts ;  then  364 X 
364,  is  equal  to  132,496 :  then  add  -f ,  or  Sab- 
batic time,  and  we  have  151,424.  And  since 
360  is  contained  in  1,260,  three  and  a  half 
times,  then  three  and  a  half  times  one  "  time," 
or  151,424,  is  equal  to  529,984  days  in  solar 
time,  or  1,451  years  and  17  days — exactly  the 
time  of  the  sojourn  of  the  woman  in  the  wilder- 
ness.   Now  add  1,451  years  and  17  days  to  June 


50 


THE   STOIVE   KINGDOM. 


17tli,  325  A.  D.j  and  it  brings  us  down  exactly 
to  the  setttng  np  of  tlie  Stone  Kingdom,  or  to 
J  tlie  Ibirtli  of  tlie  Man-Child  on  July  4tli,  1776, 
when  "a  nation  was  born  in  a  day." 

These  are  astonishing  facts  revealed  to  us 
with  the  accuracy  of  the  mathematics  of 
heaven. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WHERE  WILL  ISRAEL  BE  RESTORED? 

Or,  Where  will  the  "  Stone  Kingdom  "  be  set  up  ? 
ANSWERED     BY     THE    PROPHETS. 

HE  Scriptures  manifestly  teach  that,  in 
"  the  latter  times,"-  Israel  will  be  restor- 
ed in  a  glorious  nationality.  It  has  been  a 
favorite  notion,  both  with  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian waiters,  that  all  these  grand  proj)liecies 
relate  to  the  return  of  the  Jews,  and  the  resto- 
ration of  Israel  in  old  Palestine.  We  are  not 
surprised  at  this  notion,  because  this  nation- 
ality, to  be  restored,  is  called  "Israel"  by  the 
prophets.  This  was  the  best  term  they  had  to 
convey  the  great  idea.  They  did  not  say  that  ^' 
that  nationality  was  to  be  made  of  the  friends 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  ;  not  even  of 
Christians.  But  they  said  it  was  to  be  "  Is- 
rael." 

G-esenius  interprets  "  Israel "  to  mean  "  sol- 
dier of  God."     This,  then  marks  the  character 

61 


52  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

of  that  people  who  shonkl  possess  the  kingdom 
in  tlie  latter  days,  or  the  fifth  government. 
^They  were  to  be  "  Israel,"  or  soldiers  of  God.  . 
Only  disrobe  these  prophecies  of  their  Jew- 
ish paraphernalia,  and  the  proportions  and 
sublimity  of  Christian  rejpublicanism  are  per- 
fectly delineated.  Our  blessed  Savior  has 
given  us  a  key  for  their  interpretation,  Matt, 
xvii :  "  His  disciples  asked  him  saying, '  Why, 
then,  say  the  Scribes  that  Elijah  must  first 
come?'  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto 
them  that  Elijah  is  come  already,  and  they 
knew  him  not.  Then  the  disciples  understood 
that  He  spake  unto  thetn  of  John  the  Baptist.^'' 
]^ow,  when  we  tell  you  that  the  United  States 
is  the  Stone  Kingdom,  or  Israel  restored,  sup- 
pose you  ask  the  Master  by  what  construction 
of  language  do  you  make  out  that  John  the 
Baptist  was  Elijah  which  was  for  to  come, 
seeing  he  was  altogether  another  man.  John 
was  "  the  Elijah,  which  was  to  come,"  not  be- 
cause he  bore  the  name,  but  because  he  came 
"in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah."  He  was 
therefore  declared  by  the  Savior  to  be  indeed 
the  Elijah.  If,  therefore,  a  great  nationality 
is  promised  to  arise  in  the  latter  days,  and  the 


ISRAEL   RESTORED.  53 

United  States  of  America  exhibits  the  charac- 
ter,  and  fills  the  description,  both  as  to  the 
geography,  time,  and  place  of  rising,  and 
comes  with  the  spirit  and  power  of  Israel,  and 
no  other  nation  under  heaven  ever  has,  or  ever 
can  answer  the  description,  then  we  claim  that 
perfect  coincidence  is  perfect  fulfillment,  and 
the  United  States  is  the  nationality  promised 
to  Israel  in  the  latter  da3^s.  The  term  ''  Israel " 
has  belonged  to  the  people  of  God  ever  since 
Jacob  wrestled  with  the  angel  of  the  Lord. 
And  the  Church  of  God  will  be  called  "  Israel"  ^ 
till  the  end  of  time.  Both  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
when  born  of  the  Spirit,  become  members  of 
God's  "Israel."  This  is  triumphantly  shown 
by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  Rom.  iv,  and  Gal.  iii, 
iv. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  there  is  one  fear- 
ful difficulty  in  the  way  of  this  interpretation, 
i.  e.^  we  are  too  wicked  and  unworthy  a  nation 
to  be  honored  with  the  title  of  "  Israel."  Alas, 
my  brethren,  heaven  knows  our  awful  wicked- 
ness— wickedness  in  high  places  and  in  low 
places.  The  Sabbath  is  desecrated  and  God's 
law  is  despised  by  millions.  But  wicked  as  / 
we  are,  we  are  the  best  people  as  a  nation  on 


54  TPIE    STOISTE    KII^GDOM. 

/the  earth.  It  is  the  ugly  outside  of  our  body- 
politic  that  is  daily  flared  before  the  world. 
Our  papers  tell  of  murders,  robberies  and 
high  crimes  committed  all  over  the  continent. 
These  black  parts  of  history  are  picked  up  as 
choice  morsels  to  satiate  the  depraved  appe- 
tite. The  ten  thousand  acts  of  kindness,  of 
benevolence  and  heroic  sacrifice  to  truth  and 
duty,  are  never  heard  of,  and  our  great  throb- 
bing heart  of  humanity,  in  sympathy  with 
human  woe  all  round  the  world,  flnds  no 
heralds,  no  adequate  expression,  while  loud- 
mouthed crime  tries  to  drown  the  praise  and 
hallelujahs  which  ascend  from  the  hills  and 
plains  of  these  "  mountains  of  Israel."  Here 
the  virtuous  stranger  flnds  a  home  and  a  wel- 
come. Here  the  oppressed  of  all  lands  may 
find  a  safe  retreat,  throw  ofl"  the  yoke  of  bond- 
age, and  enjoy  the  inheritance  of  freemen. 
Then  away  with  the  objection.  It  is  as  true 
to-day  as  of  old,  that  "  they  are  not  all  Israel, 
that  are  of  Israel."  In  "  Israel "  restored  to 
^  nationality,  possessed  of  the  true  religion  and 
civil  and  religious  liberty  to  the  full,  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked,  the  tares  and  the 
wheat,  the  wise  and  the  foolish,  will  be  found 


ISRAEL   RESTORED.  55 

together,  even  unto  the  judgment  day.  After 
the  Lord  had  led  His  ancient  Israel,  a  nation  of 
three  millions,  from  the  brick-yards  of  Egypt 
out  into  the  wilderness,  with  a  pillar  of  cloud 
by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  and  they 
were  gathered  around  Mt.  Sinai  to  behold  the 
glory  of  God,  when  the  lightning  rent  the  mantle 
of  the  sky,  and  the  thunder  waxed  louder  and 
louder,  when  the  mountain  trembled  from  its 
glowing  summit  to  its  granite  base — when 
from  amid  such  awful  grandeur  God  was  giv- 
ing to  Moses  the  Tables  of  the  Law,  where  was 
Israel  ?  And  what  was  Israel  doing  ?  At  the 
foot  of  the  mountain,  making  a  golden  calf  !  ! 
and  shouting  in  their  idolatrous  worship. 

Wherefore  b}^  the  term  "Israel  restored," 
we  mean  a  providential  nation,  possessing  the 
only  true  religion  and  a  divinely  sanctioned 
form  of  government,  and  possessing  territory  , 
sufficient  for  that  great  people  which  is  to 
have  the  headshi23  of  the  world,  or  leader- 
shi]3  in  pure  religion  and  civil  liberty  :  a  nation, 
before  whose  moral  and  physical  power,  mon-  ^ 
archy,  tyranny,  and  absolutism  are  to  be 
driven  away,  like  chaff*  before  the  winds  from 
the  summer  threshing  floors. 


56  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

The  old  notion  that  "  Israel  restored,"  means 
that  the  Jews  will  go  back  to  Palestine,  and 
set  lip  their  government  in  ancient  splendor, 
and  turn  back  the  wheels  of  progress  three 
thousand  years,  is  as  false  as  it  is  absurd. 
Many  of  the  Jews  will  doubtless  go  back  to 
Palestine,  and  set  up  a  little  republican  gov- 
ernment. For  we  think  that  land  was  promised 
to  them.  But  that  little,  far-off,  secluded, 
part  of  earth,  does  not  and  never  can  till  the 
civil,  historical,  commercial,  and  geographical 
description  of  Israel  restored,  or  the  mission 
of  the  Stone  Kingdom,  or  the  empire  of  the 
Man-  Cliild,  who  is  to  rule  the  nations  with  a 
rod  of  iron.  But  the  United  States  of  America 
^does  till  all  the  requirements  as  exactly  as  the 
shadow  fits  the  substance.  That  old  notion 
dishonors  the  great  apostle,  when  he  says 
"  the  blindness  that  has  happened  to  Israel " 
will  continue  "  until  the  fullness  of  the  Gen- 
tiles is  brought  in."  The  Gentiles  will  be 
brought  in  first,  and  the  Jews  last — fulfilling 
what  the  Master  said,  "  the  first  shall  be  last 
and  the  last  first."  In  the  true  Israel,  "  there 
is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  is  neither  bond 
nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female,  for 


ISRAEL   RESTORED.  57 

ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  J.esus."  "And  if  ye  be 
Christ's  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs 
according  to  the  promise."  In  view  of  all  this 
array  of  testimony  as  to  who  Israel  is,  it  is 
strange,  passing  strange,  that  learned  Ameri- 
can divines,  should  hold  to  that  old,  fitless 
notion,  that  "Israel  restored"  means  there- 
turn  of  the  Jews  to  old  Palestine  :  that  notion 
bespeaks  more  faith  than  works. 

There  are  a  multitude  of  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, which,  as  the  learned  and  judicious 
admit,  foretell  the  rise  of  a  great  nationality 
in  the  latter  times.  These  predictions  cannot, 
by  any  just  laws  of  interpretation,  be  applied 
to  the  rise  of  such  nationality  in  the  land  of 
Palestine.  But  they  do  most  wonderfully  apply 
to  and  tit  the  United  States  of  America  and  no 
other  land  under  heaven.  Let  us  select  a  few 
out  of  the  multitude  of  descriptions  and  coin- 
cidences that  are  realized  alone  in  our  own 
great  country. 

1  St.  The  land  of  the  promised  nationality, 
was  to  lie  hetioeen  two  seas.  Ezek.  xlvii  :  18, 
20.  "From  the  border  unto  the  east  sea.  And 
this  is  the  east  side.  The  west  side  also  shall 
be  the  great  sea  from   the  border.     This   is 


58  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

tlie  west  side."  These  are  exact  boundaries 
of  our  country.  "  The  west  side  also  shall  be 
the  great  sea,"  or  Pacific. 

If  Ezeldel  is  correct  in  his  geographical 
description  of  the  land  of  Israel  restored,  he 
certainly  cannot  refer  to  Palestine,  for  there 
is  no  sea  on  its  eastern  border.  And  this 
description  must  forever  prove  fatal  to  that 
old  notion,  that  the  promised  nationality  is  to 
be  in  the  land  of  Judea.  It  lacks  an  ocean  on 
the  east  side. 

2nd.  Israel  was  to  be  restored,  in  a  land 
that  had  always  been  loaste. — Ezek.  xxxviii : 
8.  "  The  land  that  is  brought  back  from  the 
sword,  and  is  gathered  out  of  many  people, 
thou  shalt  come  against  the  mountains  of 
Israel,  that  have  been  always  waste." — 
This  Scripture  is  an  exact  description  of  our 
country,  and  especially  that  part  that  speaks 
of  it  having  been  "  alioays  waste.''^  A  coun- 
try that  had  never  been  cultivated,  or  im- 
proved. This  cannot  be  said  of  Palestine,  for 
it,  in  ages  past,  has  been  as  the  garden  of  the 
Lord.  But  our  country  fully  answers  the 
description.  When  our  fathers  came  to  Amer- 
ica, they  found  it  a  vast  wilderness  that  had 


ISRAEL    RESTORED.  59 

been  "  aUoays  loaste^  The  35tli  chapter  of 
Isaiah  seems  to  l)e  a  grand  anthem  of  praise, 
and  hearty  congratnlation  on  their  arrival. 
The  earth  is  represented  as  shouting  for  joy, 
when  our  forefathers  came  to  take  possession 
of  the  wilderness.  "  The  wilderness  and  the 
solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them  ;  and  the 
desert  shall  rejoice,  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 
It  shall  blossom  abundantly,  and  rej  oice  even 
with  joy  and  singing:  the  glory  of  Lebanon 
shall  be  given  unto  it,  the  excellency  of  Carmel 
and  Sharon ;  they  shall  see  the  glory  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  excellency  of  our  God." 

3rd.  Our  wonderful  country  is  further  de- 
scribed, in  the  same  prophecy  as  having  its 
inhabitants  gathered  out  of  the  nations,  or 
from  many  peoples.  Not  the  scattered  Jews, 
gathered  from  the  ends  of  the  earth, — as  one 
nation  gathered  together.  JN'o,  no  :  but  it  is 
the  description  of  a  land  filled  with  immigrants 
from  all  parts  of  the  earth.  This  is  so  con- 
spicuous a  characteristic  of  the  glorious 
nation alit}^,  that  the  prophet  Isaiah  dwells 
upon  it  with  inspired  eloquence.  "Lift  up 
thine  eyes  round  about  and  see  ;  all  they 
gather    themselves    together;    they  come    to 


60  THE   STON^E   KIT^GDOM. 

tliee  ;  thy  sons  shall  come  from  far,  and  thy 
daiightei's  shall  be  nursed  at  thy  side."  "  The 
abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted  (or 
turned)  unto  thee;  the  forces  of  the  Gentiles 
shall  come  unto  thee  ....  Who  are 
these  that  fly  as  a  cloud,  and  as  the  doves  to 
their  windows?  ....  Thy  gates  shall 
be  opened  continually  ;  they  shall  not  be  shut, 
day  nor  night."  Truly  Isaiah  must  have  seen 
our  country  as  it  now  is :  with  immigrants 
coming  like  clouds  from  all  the  nations  of 
earth.  The  whole  description  is  sublimely 
grand  because  its  fulfillment  is  the  demonstra- 
tion of  truth.  '*The  sons  also  of  them  that 
afflicted  thee,  shall  come  bending  unto  thee 
and  all  they  that  despise  Thee,  shall  bow 
themselves  down  at  the  soles  of  Th}^  feet." 
The  children  of  those  very  soldiers  that  in- 
vaded our  country,  burned  our  towns,  and 
murdered  our  people,  now  come  to  make  our 
country  their  home ;  and  those  who  sneered  at 
our  experiment  of  popular  freedom,  and  said 
that  our  Republic  would  be  buried  with  \¥ash- 
ington,  now  gladly  come  and  cast  in  their 
lot  with  us,  and  invest  their  all  under  the  pro- 
tection of  that  banner  which  they  scoffingiy 


y 


ISRAEL    RESTORED.  61 

said  would  be  the  winding-sheet  of  American 
indej^endence.  How  graphic  the  picture 
drawn  by  the  pen  of  inspiration  more  than 
2,500  years  ago !  As  time  rolls  on,  the  pro- 
gramme is  literally  and  astonishingly  ful- 
filled. 

4tli.  Extension  is  one  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  promised  nationality,  Dan.  ii  :  35, 
"  And  the  Stone  that  smote  the  image  became 
a  great  mountain  and  filled  the  Avhole  earth." 
Its  benign  influence,  exerted  through  the 
transforming  power  of  civil  and  religious  lib- 
erty on  the  nations,  will  destroy  monarchy 
and  absolutism  and  ultimately  fill  the  whole 
earth  with  its  heavenly  blessings.  This  will 
be  accomplished,  in  a  great  degree,  gradually.  "^ 
The  leaven  of  the  gospel  and  human  freedom, 
will  work  by  the  power  of  a  divine  chemistry, 
until  the  whole  world  shall  be  leavened. 
Isaiah, .  speaking  of  this  government,  shortly 
after  its  establishment,  says,  ''  For  thy  ruins 
and  thy  wastes  and  thy  land  of  desolation 
shall  even  now  be  too  narrow  by  reason  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  they  that  swallowed  thee 
up  (the  autocracies  of  the  old  world)  shall  be 
far   away    (beyond   the   sea).      The  children 


63  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

which  thou  shalt  have  (in  this  land)  after  thou 
hast  lost  the  other  (ancient  Israel)  shall  say 
again  in  thy  ears,  '  The  place  is  too  strait  for 
me,  give  place  that  I  may  dwell.'"  Extension, 
^  expansion  and  elevation  is  the  genius  of  our 
institutions.  From  thirteen  States,  we  now 
y  y  have  thirty-eight  States  and  nine  large  terri- 
tories. Mexico,  the  West  Indies,  and  all  South 
America  are  biding  their  time  to  form  part  of 
the  great  confederacy.  Monarchy  and  mis- 
rule melt  away  in  proximity  to  a  glorious  re- 
public like  icebergs  under  a  tropical  sun, 
while  their  natural  interests  impel  them  to 
seek  annexation  and  to  share  in  the  rewards 
of  a  higher  development.  The  magnetism  of 
human  liberty  will  draw  all  nations  towards 
it ;  while  the  gospel  of  Christ  adorns  it  all 
with  the  halo  of  salvation. 

5 til.  Another  famous  prophecy  to  be  fulfill- 
ed in  Israel  restored,  is  in  Isaiah  xlix  :  12, 
''  Behold  these  shall  come  from  far,  and  lo 
these  from  the  North  and  from  the  West,  and 
these  from  the  land  of  Sinim."  The  learned 
generally  agree  that  "  Sinim  "  is  China.  Sin- 
im, or  China,  lies  due  west  of  our  country. 
The  prophet  seems  to  be  astonished  at  this 


ISKAEL   KESTORED.  63 

wonderful  fact,  that  the  Chinese,  also,  are 
coming  to  the  land  of  Israel.  China  has  been 
a  shut-up  nation,  almost  from  tlie  days  of 
N'oah,  and  never  before,  in  modern  times, 
mingled  with  otlier  nations.  Now,  behokl 
them  breaking  over  their  enclosure,  and  com- 
ing from  the  West.  The  prophet  is  amazed 
at  the  multitudes  coming  from  every  quarter, 
and  especially  that  the  land  of  "Sinim" 
should  join  in  the  wonderful  migration.  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  them  have  already 
come  to  our  hospitable  shores,  astonishing 
and  startling  our  people  as  much  as  the 
prophets  of  old.  Now,  since  these,  from  the 
land  of  Sinim,  were  to  come  from  the  \Yest, 
how  could  they  have  ever  reached  old  Pales- 
tine ?  Palestine  never  could  have  been  reach- 
ed by  them  from  that  direction,  demonstrat- 
ing that  the  land  of  Judea  is  not  to  be  the 
place  of  Israel  restored.  And  since  they 
come  from  the  land  of  Sinim,  and  from  the 
West,  to  our  country  —in  the  time  appointed 
— we  behold  in  this  a  fulfillment  of  prophecy 
on  a  magnificent  scale,  declaring  to  the  world 
that  the  United  States  of  America  is  the  land 
of  Israel  restored.     Perfect  coincidence  being 


64  THE    STONE   KINGDOM. 

perfect  fulfillment,  our  position  is  demon- 
strated. 

(3tli.  Gog  is  represented  in  Ezek.  xxxviii : 
as  going  up  to  attack  and  destroy  the  glory 
of  Israel  restored.  Gog  says,  "I  will  go  up 
to  the  land  of  unwalled  villages,  I  will  go 
to  them  that  are  at  rest,  that  dwell  safely,  all 
of  them  dwelling  without  walls,  and  having 
neither  bars  nor  gates,  to  take  a  spoil,  and  to 
take  a  ]3rey."  Read  the  whole  chapter,  and 
see  almost  a  perfect  picture  of  your  own  land. 
I  suppose  Ezekiel  never  saw  an  unwalled  city 
in  his  life.  This  description  cannot  be  applied 
to  Judea,  for  all  her  cities  were  walled,  from 
Dan  to  Beersheba.  This  famous  photograph 
of  pro23hecy  finds  a  perfect  fulfillment  in 
our  own  prosperous  country,  where  the  cities 
are  Avithout  walls,  gates  or  bars ;  where  all 
dwell  safely.  It  finds  its  perfect  fulfillment  in 
the  United  States,  and  in  no  other  country  on 
earth,  i.  e.,  when  we  observe  all  the  pointings 
of  prophecy. 

7th.  Great  intelligence  should  mark  the 
progress  of  the  promised  nationality,  and 
also  a  general  instruction  in  divine  things. 
Isaiah  liv:   13.     "All  thy   children   shall  be 


ISIJAEL    IIESTORED.  65 

taught  of  the  Lord;  and  great  shall  be  the 
peace  of  thy  children."  Is  not  this  an  exact 
foreshadowing  of  our  people  ?  Our  system  of 
free  schools  is  rapidl}^  improving.  Academies 
and  Colleges  are  multiplying  all  over  the  land. 
And  our  system  of  Sabbath-school  instruction 
is  raj)idly  becoming  a  golden  net-work  in  the 
counties  of  the  States,  so  that  "  all  thy  chil- 
dren shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord."  The  minis- 
ter of  the  Grospel  lifts  up  his  voice  in  every 
community.  The  Bible  is  unchained  and 
given  to  the  masses,  as  a  light  to  their  feet 
and  a  lamp  to  their  path,  while  the  2^^^ss 
pours  forth  its  countless  millions  of  pages,  to 
teach  the  people  things  about  the  world,  as 
well  as  about  the  higher  spiritual  life.  Great 
intelligence  among  the  masses  is  certainly  a 
characteristic  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States. 

8tli.  The  nationality  of  Israel  restored 
must  be  settled  in  thirteen  distinct  States, 
like  ancient  Israel,  only  "  Joseph  should 
have  two  ]3ortions."  Ezek.  xlvii :  13.  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God.  This  shall  be  the 
border  whereby  ye  shall  inlierit  the  land, 
according    to    the    twelve    tribes    of    Israel : 


66  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

Joseph  shall  have  two  portioned. '^  That  made 
thirteen  tribes,  or  States,  for  ancient  Israel. 
jS^ow  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  there  were 
twelve  States  in  early  colonial  times.  William 
Penn  held  the  charter  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Delaware.  And  for  twenty  years  the  whole 
territory  was  governed  as  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. But  in  1703  Delav^are  obtained  a  sepa- 
rate organization,  while  one  Governor  pre- 
sided over  the  Provinces  nntil  1776.  Thus  the 
thirteen  States  were  formed.  And  when  we 
remember  that  prophecy  gives  the  geographi- 
cal boundary,  and  that  the  eastern  border 
should  be  on  the  eastern  sea,  and  the  western 
border  should  be  on  the  great  loestern  sea, 
and  when  wq  remember  the  old  colonial  char- 
ters granted  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
we  are  astounded  at  the  exactness  of  the  pro- 
phetic foreshadowing,  and  the  present  fulhll- 
ment,  clearly  showing  that  our  country,  and 
no  other  land  on  earth  can  fill  the  .entire  pro- 
gramme. It  is  both  sad  and  amusing  to  see 
with  what  stuhhornness  and  self-satisfaction 
many  hold  to  the  old  ruts  of  interj)retation, 
riglit  or  wrong.  Adam  Clarke  drew  a  map  of 
the  land  of  Israel  restored,  and  located  it  in 


ISRAEL   RESTORED.  67 

Palestine,  of  course.  He  made  the  States  all 
border  on  the  Mediterranean,  or  western  sea, 
but  he  could  find  no  eastern  sea  for  the  boun- 
dary which  the  prophet  called  for.  Hence 
the  unfitness  and  absurdity  of  his  position, 
because  it  had  no  "  eastern  sea "  for  a 
boundary. 

9th.  Our  country  seems  manifestly  to  be 
the  land  lying  westward  from  Judea  that  the 
prophet  saw,  in  Chap.  18th,  and  joyfully/ 
saluted.  "All  hail  to  the  land  shadowing  with  , 
wings,  which  is  bey  on  i  the  rivers  of  Ethiopia." 
Where  is  that  land?  Let  the  prophet  stand 
somewhere  in  Judea,  say  about  Jt^rusalem, 
and  look  beyond  the  rivers  of  Ethiopia,  beyond 
the  Mle,  and  its  mouths,  and  we  find  nothing 
but  a  barren  desert  and  the  roving  Bedouins. 
Surely  that  is  not  what  the  projphet  saw  and 
saluted.  Then  we  must  look  on  in  the  same 
direction — for  that  is  specifically  given.  And 
we  find  no  other  land,  or  people,  on  that  line 
of  latitude,  until  we  strike  the  coasts  of  the 
Carolinas,  in  our  own  country,  that  could 
warrant  the  salutation  of  the  prophet,  "All  j 
hail  to  the  land."  So  much  for  the  direction 
in  which  the  prophet  tells  us  to  look. 


68  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

IN'ext,  he  describes  the  land  as  "  Shadowing 
with  wings."  The  geographical  map  of  North 
and  South  America  resembles  very  much  two 
great  wings — or,  perhaps  his  description  re- 
ferred to  the  national  standard  of  that  people, 
which  is  an  eagle,  with  his  wings  outspread 
from  shore  to  shore.  Whatever  the  prophet 
v^  meant,  the  whole  chapter  is  a  wonderful  de- 
scription of  our  country,  and  fits  it  with 
astonishing  accuracy.  Many  learned  com- 
.  mentators,  never  dreaming  that  America  had 
any  place  in  jjrophecy,  or  in  God's  plans, 
acknowledge,  as  Adam  Clarke  does,  that  "  this 
is  the  most  obscure  passage  in  the  whole  book 
of  Isaiah."  These  learned  men  look  in  an 
opposite  direction  from  the  prophet,  and  of 
^  course  can  see  nothing.  Our  interpretation  is 
certainly  legitimate,  and  the  fulfillment  should 
awaken  attention  and  enkindle  our  admi- 
ration. 

10th.  There  are  strong  intimations  in  Scrip- 
ture that  the  Stone  Kin2:dom  was  to  be  a  Re- 
public.  Hos.  i :  11.  The  peojDle  should  be 
"  gathered  together  and  appoint  unto  them- 
selves one  head,"  or  chief  magistrate,  ap- 
pointed by  the  people.    Isaiah  i  :  26.    "And  I 


ISRAEL   RESTORED.  69 

will  restore  thy  judges,  as  at  the  first,  andtliy 
counsellors  as  at  the  beginning."  '  Ancient 
Israel  was  at  first  a  theocratic  republic.  And 
the  government  of  "  Israel  restored,"  from 
these  passages,  would,  have  the  right  to  elect 
their  own  rulers.  Also,  when  the  Stone  King- 
dom was  set  up,  it,  at  the  appointed  time, 
would  break  into  shivers  all  forms  of  mon- 
archy. Also,  when  ancient  Israel  asked 
Samuel  to  appoint  them  a  Jciiig,  like  the 
other  nations,  the  Lord  told  him  to  "^^roi^t^,^^ 
solemnly  unto  them,  and  show  unto  them  the 
manner  of  the  king  that  shall  reign  over 
them  "  and  rob  them,  and  degrade  them,  and 
oppress  the  n.  So  we  see  kingly  forms  of 
government  exist  under  the  solemn  protest  of 
Almighty  God.  He  alone  should  be  King.  He 
claims  that  right  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Our  conclusion  from  all  this  testi- 
mony is,  that  the  form  of  government  of  the 
fifth,  and  greatest  nationality,  must  be  a  Re- 
public. 

11th.  The  "  Availing  isles  "  of  Isaiah  is  a 
sublime  announcement  of  our  great  country. 
"  Surely  the  isles  shall  wait  for  me,"  or  the 
undiscovered  lands  shall  wait  for  the  develop- 


70  THE   STOI^E   KINGDOM. 

ment  of  Grod's  providence,  "  and  the  ships  of 
Tarshish  first  to  bring  thy  sons  from  far, 
their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them  unto  the 
name  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  to  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  because  he  hath  glorified  thee." 
Tarshish,  or  Tartessus,  formerly  a  seaport  in 
old  Spain.  "  This  opinion,"  says  Mr.  Ben- 
son, "  is  now  generally  adopted  by  the 
learned."  Here  we  have  the  startling  an- 
nouncement that  the  waiting  isles,  or  undis- 
covered lands,  had  been  concealed  and  hid 
from  the  avaricious  and  bloody  struggles  of 
the  nations,  until  the  set  time  to  favor  Zion 
had  come.  Then  the  ships  of  old  Spain  would 
be  ''^  first  to  bring  thy  sons  from  far."  And 
were  not  the  sliiT)s  of  Spain  first  to  discover, 
and  first  to  open  the  way  for  immigration  to, 
the  new  world  ?  After  Columbus  had  been 
repulsed  from  every  court  in  Euro]3e,  did  not 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  furnish  him  with  the 
necessary  outfit,  and  thus  fulfill  their  great 
mission  in  "  first  bringing  thy  sons  from  far," 
and  so  opening  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
world  our  great  country  ?  This  never  can 
apply  to  Palestine ;  for  it  was  not  then  an 
undiscovered    country.      And    the    ships    of 


ISRAEL   RESTORED.  71 

Tarshisli  or  Spain  could  not  be  "first"  to 
bring  immigration  into  it.  When  the  minions 
of  monarchy  first  came  to  Mexico  and  Pern  and 
toolv  possession  of  those  countries,  they  did 
it  in  tlie  name  of  tlieir  sovereigns  and  for  the 
sake  of  gold.  But  when  the  Huguenots,  the 
Quakers,  the  Puritans  and  the  Covenanters 
came,  it  was  for  conscience's  sake,  and  for 
the  privilege  of  worshiping  God.  "  Unto  the 
name  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  to  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,"  they  came.  To  write  the  ful- 
fillment of  all  this  glorious  prophecy,  would 
fill  a  volume.  The  footsteps  of  God's  provi- , 
dence  in  all  our  history  from  its  discovery  to 
the  time  when  "a  nation  was  born  at  once," 
July  4,  1776,  and  on  through  all  our  struggles 
to  the  present,  are  as  visible  as  was  the  pillar 
of  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night 
which  led  old  Israel  into  the  promised  land. 

12tli.  The  infancy  of  restored  Israel  should 
receive  "royal  patronage,"  Isa.  xlix :  23. 
"  And  kings  shall  be  thy  nursing  fathers,  and 
their  queens  Ihy  nursing  mothers."  Nurs- 
ing applies  to  infancy,  and  all  through  our 
early  history  the  various  sovereigns  of 
Europe  gave  a  fostering  hand  to  colonization. 


72-  THE    STONE   KIN^GDOK. 

In  our  helpless  infancy,  their  kings  were  our 
nursing  fathers,  and  their  queens  were  our 
nursing  mothers.  And  in  honor  of  them, 
several  of  the  old  thirteen  States  were  named, 
and  numberless  counties  and  towns  an.d  places 
— Virginia,  Georgia,  Maryland  and  the  Caro 
Unas  among  the  States,  and  of  counties.  King 
William,  Prince  George,  Prince  Edward  and 
a  multitude  of  royal  names,  that  will  forever 
jDerj^etuate  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy  that 
royalty  should  be  our  foster-parent. 

13th.  Coining  extents  cast  their  sJiadoios  he- 
fore  tliem.  The  Continental  Congress,  in  1782, 
adopted  a  device  for  the  great  seal  of  the 
United  States,  and  re-adopted  it  in  1789.  The 
obverse  side  is  familiar  to  all,  but  the  reverse 
side  which  was  adopted,  we  have  no  evidence 
that  it  was  ever  made  or  used.  But  in  its 
adoption  we  see  the  liand  of  Providence  fixing 
in  the  aegis  of  our  country  its  glorious  ]3rox)h- 
ecy — telling  great  truths  which  its  framers, 
Daniel-like,  wrote  but  did  not  comprehend. 
In  the  centre  there  is  an  unfinished  j)yi'amid 
of  thirteen  layers  of  large  hewn  stones,  on  the 
base  of  which  is  inscribed  "  1776."  High 
above  this  p3a\amid  is  a  triangular  apex,  in 


ISRAEL   RESTOREB.  73 

the  centre  of  which  is  represented  the  all-see- 
ing Eye,  overlooking  all.  Above  it  is  this  in- 
scription— "  Annuit  Coeptis,"  and  underneath 
the  circle — '•  Novns  ordo  sector nm."  All  of 
wliich  may  be  translated,  "Providence  favorsv 
the  beginning  of  the  new  order  of  the  ages." 
Could  a  more  beautiful,  appro23riate  or  befit- 
ting device  have  been  made  for  the  Great  Seal 
of  State  for  the  Stone  Kingdom,  which  was 
then  set  up  ?  We  see  in  it  the  symbolic  Stone 
cut  out  of  the  mountain.  We  see  in  it  tlieu/ 
symbol  of  God's  wonderful  providence.  And 
we  have  in  it  the  sublime  announcement  of 
the  beginning  of"  the  new  order  of  the  ages," 
when  men  would  be  free,  when  the  Bible  would 
be  unchained,  and  when  religion  Avould  be  un- 
trammeled  by  popes  and  priests  and  civil  des- 
pots.    Truly 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

And  now,  my  countrymen,  with  such  a  his- 
tory as  ours,  guided  in  every  step  of  our  prog- 
ress by  the  hand  of  Providence  ;  in  the  pangs 
of  the  birth  of  the  Man-Child,  a  safe  deliverance 
granted;  when  the  dragon  of  despotism  en- 
deavored to  destroy  us.  His  providence  saved 


74  THE   STONE    KINGDOM. 

US  ;  then  such  men  as  He  gave  us,  in  Cabinet 
and  Camp,  for  those  times  of  trial,  in  the  form- 
ative period  of  our  government,  "  Their  lil^e 
we  ne'er  shall  see  again  " — then  an  hundred 
years  of  unequalled  prosperity,  marred  only 
by  a  few  years  of  civil  war !      Your  country 

^now  moves  forward  with  a  giant's  tread  to  the 
first  place  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
Her  divine  programme  is  written,  and  her  des- 
tiny is  glorious.  See  to  it,  my  countrymen, 
that  you  act  well  your  part.  Do  honor  to 
yourselves — to  your  country — and  to  your 
God.  "  Then  Gentiles  and  kings  shall  see  thy 
glory,  and  thou  shalt  be  called  by  a  new  name. 

^  Thy  sun  "  (or  civil  government)  "  shall  no 
more  go  down ;  neither  shall  thy  moon  "  (the 
blessings  of  the  Church)  "withdraw  itself;  for 
the  Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting  Light,  and 
the  da_YS  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended." 
"A  little  one  shall  become  a  thousand,  and  a 
small  one  a  strong  nation  ;  I  the  Lord  will 
hasten  it  in  His  time." 


CHAPTER  Y. 
THE  TWO  AMERICAS, 

Or  "  The  Land  Shadowed  with  Wings." — Isaiah  xviii. 

^^llf-HIS  cliapter  has  been  a  puzzle  to  com- 
f]^  mentators  through  all  the  ages.  Dr. 
Scott  says,  "  This  is  one  of  the  most  obscure 
prophecies  in  the  Scriptures."  Adam  Clarke 
says,  "  It  is  the  most  difficult  chapter  in  the 
whole  book."  Addison  Alexander  says, 
''IN'early  every  word  and  phrase  of  this  diffi- 
cult verse,  (he  might  well  have  said,  chapter) 
has  been  the  subject  of  discordant  explana- 
tions." 

There  are  two  reasons  why  this  prophecy 
could  not  be  understood  at  an  earlier  time. 
1st.  The  Lord  had  sealed  it  up  till  "  the  time 
of  the  end."  Dan.  xii.  9.  All  through  the  in- 
terdicted ages  the  seal  could  not  be  broken, 
and   this  prophecy  could  not  be  understood. 

No  wonder  that  King  James'  translators  could 

75 


76  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

make  no  sense  out  of  tliis  cliapter.  The  seal 
then  had  not  been  broken.  2nd.  The  learned 
theologians  and  commentators  of  Europe  nev- 
er could  see  any  of  God's  plans  or  prophecies 
reaching  to  America.  This  third  part  of  the 
earth's  surface  is  left  outside  of  His  dominions 
— especially  outside  of  His  prophecy  and  the 
programme  of  the  nations.  And  still  the 
sharp-cut  and  distinctly-drawn  prophecies  of 
this  chapter  coukl  find  no  counterpart  any- 
where in  the  Old  World.  Hence  European 
commentators,  aud  those  who  follow  in  their 
tracks,  are  puzzled.  After  Herculean  labors 
to  interpret  it  satisfactorily,  they  gave  it  up 
in  despair.  God's  prophet  looked  across  the 
Atlantic  and  saw  glorious  things.  But  these 
learned  theologians  looked  in  another  quarter, 
and  of  course  could  see  nothing  that  the 
prophet  saw,  and  described  so  graphically. 

But  by  looking  on  in  the  same  line  with  tlie 
prophet  we  find  an  interpretation  that  fits  the 
prophecy  as  substance  fits  tlie  shadow.  Per- 
fect coincidence  is  perfect  fullillment.  Let  us 
examine  and  see  what  saith  the  Lord,  and 
what  say  His  works  and  providence. 

y.  1.  "Ho!    to    the    land  shadowing    with 


THE    TWO    AMERICAS.  77 

wings,  wliicli  is  beyond  the  rivers  of  Etliio- 
pia."  "Ho,"  in  this  connection,  is  an  inter- 
jection of  exhortation  or  saintation,  eqnivalent 
to  tlie  Latin  Salve!  Hail!  and  not  a  "woe," 
as  in  the  English  Version.  The  prophet  was 
somewhere  in  Palestine,  probably  in  Jerusa- 
lem, as  he  looked  out  west  across  the  rivers  of 
Ethiopia — the  Mle  or  its  mouths  (anciently  the 
river  had  seven  mouths,  ninety  or  a  hundred 
miles  in  length) — and  saw  the  land  described. 
Surely  this  land  is  not  in  Africa,  for  beyond 
the  Mle  he  could  see  nothing  but  the  sandy 
desert  and  the  roving  Bedouins.  But  the 
course  is  sj)6cific :  therefore  we  must  look  on 
in  the  same  direction,  on  the  same  ^^arallel  of 
latitude,  across  the  Atlantic,  and  the  first  land 
we  find  is  North  America,  about  the  coast  of 
the  Carolinas.  This  land  corresponds  exact- 
ly with  the  prophet's  description.  Take  a 
large  map  of  North  and  South  America,  and 
you  will  find  that  those  two  great  divisions 
wonderfully  resemble  two  huge  wings.  And  it  , 
seems  evident  that  this  is  the  land  shadowed 
with  wings  which  the  prophet  saw,  and  no  oth- 
er. Also  the  ensign  or  fiag  of  the  United  ^ 
States  has  an  eagle  with  its  wings  outstretch- 


78  THE    STONE   KINGDOM. 

ed  from  shore  to  shore.  Truly  America  is  the 
land  shadowed  with  wings  Avliich  Isaiah  saw. 
It  lies  in  the  direction  pointed  out,  and  cor- 
responds exactly  with  the  description  given. 
Y.  2.  "  That  sendeth  on  the  sea  vessels  of 
revolvings,  and  that  drink  wp  upon  the  face  of 
the  waters."  Tlie  word  translated  "  ambassa- 
dors "  in  the  common  version  in  Hebrew  is 
tserem,  and  means  to  go  in  ar  circle — to  re- 
volve— and  the  noun  derived  from  it  means  "a 
hinge,"  with  the  idea  of  revolving.  Then  in 
the  plural  it  means  "  writhings  " — throes— or 
groanings — as  of  a  woman  in  travail.  Now 
this  word  describes  sometliing  that  goes  on 
the  sea.  The  next  descriptive  word  is  go- 
onea,  translated  ''  bulrushes."  But  this  He- 
brew word  is  singular  and  means  '*  a  bulrush." 
It  is  therefore  manifest  that  this  translation  is 
not  the  proper  one,  for  surely  the  2)roj)het  did 
not  mean  to  say  "  vessels  of  a  bulrush."  But 
the  word  gomea  is  derived  from  ga-ma^  which 
means  ''to  absorb" — "to  drink  up" — "to 
swallow."  l^ow  put  the  two  words  together, 
and  see  what  sort  of  vessels  are  to  sail  on  the 
seas  to  this  land  of  prophecy.  "  That  sendeth 
on  the  sea  vessels  of   revolvings,    and   that 


THE   TWO    AMERICAS.  79 

drink  up."  An3^0De  who  lias  traveled  on  a 
steamship  or  on  a  steamboat  knows  how  the 
escaping  steam  groans  as  if  in  pain,  while  the 
great  wheels  or  screw-propeller  revolves. 
"  And  vessels  that  drink  up."  The  engine 
must  be  constantly  drinking  water  to  supply 
the  steam.  Do  not  these  two  words,  "tse- 
rem  "  and  "  gomea,"  so  pregnant  with  mean- 
ing, give  an  astonishingly  accurate  description 
of  steam  vessels,  as  they  now  go  on  the  face 
of  the  waters  ? 

"  Go  ye  swift  messengers  to  a  nation  tall  and 
naked,  to  a  peoj^le  terrible  from  their  begin- 
ing,  and  far  away,  to  a  nation  most  mighty, 
treading  down  their  enemies."  This  is  a  re- 
markably life-like  picture  of  the*  aborigines 
of  our  country.  "To  a  nation  tall  and 
naked."  The  Indians  are  notable  for  their 
erectness  of  stature.  They  also  have  little  or 
no  beard — smooth-faced.  "  Naked"  may  also 
refer  to  their  having  little  or  no  clothing. 
"To  a  people  terrible  since  they  existed " 
fierce  and  war-like  "  and  far  away."  Ya-lia- 
le-aJi.  This  word  is  strangely  left  out  of 
King  James'  translation  altogether.  It  is  con- 
nected in  the  clause  by  the  copulative  con- 


80  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

junction  vav  to  give  emphasis  to  further  de- 
scrij^tion ;  and  it  most  significantly  points  to 
the  land  and  the  people  that  were  "  far  away  " 
beyond  the  sea.  ''  To  a  people  most  mighty, 
and  treading  down  their  enemies  " — uncom- 
promising and  relentless.  Three  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago,  there  were  countless  thou- 
sands of  this  people  in  America.  The  Aztec 
dynasty  was  immense  under  the  reign  of  the 
Montezumas.  Also,  there  were  many  other 
powerful  tribes  in  North  America,  and  the 
empire  of  the  Incas  in  Peru,  and  other  mighty 
nations  in  South  America.  So  that  the  de- 
scription of  the  prophet  is  not  only  graphic, 
but  astonishingly  accurate,  as  the  fulfillment 
has  shown.  The  history  of  the  aboriginal 
nations  of  America  is  a  thrilling  commentary 
on  this  23ortion  of  proj)hecy. 

"  Whose  land  the  streams  (or  Hoods) 
divide."  What  land  ?  The  land  "  shadowed 
with  wings."  The  land  occupied  by  "  a  peo- 
ple tall  and  naked,  and  terrible  from  their 
beginning  and  far  away."  It  is  North  and 
South  America  that  the  '-'' streavis  dlmdey 
Please  remember  that  if  you  draw  a  straight 
line,  North  and  South,  along  the  western  coast 


THE    TWO    AMEKICAS.  81 

of  Florida,  South  America  lies  entirely  east 
of  that  line,  and  the  Grulf  of  Mexico  west. 
What  "  streams  "  or  floods  divide  these  lands  ? 
The  great  oceanic  current  of  the  INTorth  Atlan- 
tic, called  the  Gulf  Stream,  flows  in  a  north- 
easterly direction,  along  the  coast  of  North 
America,  south  of  Greenland  and  Iceland, 
and  then  east  to  the  western  coast  of  Europe, 
then  deflecting  south  by  Spain,  and  then  by 
the  north-western  coast  of  Africa  and  the 
Canary  islands,  then  southwest  across  the 
Atlantic,  by  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon,  then 
north-west  along  the  coast  of  South  America, 
where  it  strikes  the  West  India  Islands,  and 
divides  into  two  great  parts,  or  halves.  The 
south  part  flows  through  the  Carribbean  sea, 
and  sweejDS  round  the  entire  coast  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  out  at  the  Straits  of  Florida, 
fifty  miles  wide,  3,000  feet  deep  and  at  a  ve- 
locity of  four  miles  per  hour,  and  thence  up  in  a 
north-easterly  course,  where  it  joins  the  other 
half,  that  flows  north  of  the  West  Indies.  And 
thus  on  and  on,  in  an  everlasting  stream,  and 
round  and  round,  forming  a  vast  circuit,  ^^art 
of  which  forever  divides  "  the  land  shadowed 
with  wings."     You  perceive  one  half  of  this 


82  THE    STONE    KINGDOiAI. 

"  stream  "  is  doubled  like  a  great  looj:)^  as  it 
Hows  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  at  one  place 
and  out  at  another.  Hence — na-ha-rem — 
streams^  is  plural,  so  that  in  going  from  North 
America  to  South  America  you  must  cross 
the  "  stream "  twice.  Hence  the  projohet 
said  "  whose  land  the  streams  (or  Hoods) 
divide."  Who  can  doul)t  the  inspiration  of 
God's  Word,  when  he  reads  this  description, 
given  2,500  years  ago,  of  "  the  undiscovered 
lands  "  ?  To-day  we  find  the  land  and  the 
'^  streams  ^^  exactly  as  the  prophet  described 
them. 

y.  3.  "  All  ye  inhabitants  of  the  world  and 
dwellers  on  the  earth,  when  he  lifteth  up  a 
banner  on  these  mountains,  ye  shall  see,  and 
ye  shall  hear  when  he  bloweth  the  trumpet." 

This  verse  invites  the  attention  of  the  world 
to  some  great  event.  In  the  preceding  verses 
the  land  and  its  inhabitants  were  minutely 
described.  Now  the  great  event  referred  to, 
is  to  take  place  when  a  banner  is  "lifted  up 
upon  these  mountains  "  of  Israel  restored,  and 
when  the  trumpet  is  sounded.  By  this  we 
understand  that  a  great  civil  and  military 
movement  will  be  inaugurated,  that   will  so 


THE   TWO    AMEEICAS.  83 

change  tlie  face  of  the  country,  and,  through 
a  long  series  of  years,  will  constantly  sweep 
away  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  until  ''  the 
inhabitants  of  the  world,  and  dwellers  on  the 
earth  shall  see  "  and  behold  with  astonish- 
ment the  wonderful  results.  In  the  days  of 
Cortez  and  Pizarro,  the  banner  was  first 
"lifted  up,"  and  from  that  day  to  the  present 
time,  the  trumpet  of  war  has  often  sounded 
long  and  loud  among  the  mountains  and 
plains  of  North  and  South  America :  until  the 
countless  millions  that  once  claimed  this  land 
as  theirs,  are  now  gathered  with  the  j)ale 
nations  of  the  dead.  Only  a  few  thousands 
are  left,  to  tell  how  fearful  and  fatal  the  war 
has  been,  for  more  than  350  years.  As  when 
Joshua  led  ancient  Israel  into  old  Canaan, 
the  land  of  promise,  and  swept  away  the  in- 
habitants, took  possession  of  their  towns  and 
country,  and  established  the  thirteen  tribes 
in  the  conquered  territor}^,  and  became  a  great 
nation  for  more  than  a  thousand  years — so 
when  "  the  time  of  the  end  "  had  come,  when 
the  Pilgrims,  and  Huguenots,  and  Quakers, 
and  Covenanters,  and  all  the  persecuted  for 
conscience's  sake  were  flying  to  these  shores, 


84  THE    STO^^E    KINGDOM. 

"  the  banner  was  lifted  np"  on  these  moun- 
tains of  Israel  restored,  and  the  triim23et  was 
sounded  for  relentless  war.  Then  the  Lord 
gave  us  Washington,  to  lead  our  forces 
through  trials  and  blood  on  to  victory.  The 
thirteen  States  of  Israel  were  restored  and 
established.     Thus  the  great  Republican  Con- 

V  federacy  began,  and  for  a  hundred  years  has 
been  growing  in  power  and  influence,  until 
"  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  "  are  now  behold- 
ing with  astonishment  the  wonderful  results. 
This  seems  to  be  the  true  meaning  of  this  hith- 
erto difficult  passage,  now  so  clear,  so  plain. 
4tli.  "  For  thus  saitli  Jehovah  to  me  ;  I  will 
rest,  [or  remain  quiet]  and  will  look  [as  a  mere 
spectator]  on  my  dwelling-place,  as  the  bright 
heat  of  the  sun,  as  a  cloud  of  dew  in  the  heat 
of  harvest."  As  the  bright  heat  of  the  sun 
and  dewy  clouds  ripen  the  various  crops 
which  require  time  to  bring  about  maturity, 
so  the  Lord  said  "  I  will  rest  and  look  upon 
my  dwelling-place  "  for  more  than  2,000  3- ears : 
that,  during  all  those  ages,  my  purposes  may 
be  accomplished,  and   my  plans   brought  to 

/  full  maturity.  Hence  America  was  undis- 
covered for  so  many  centuries,  until  the  set 


THE   TWO    AMERICAS.  85 

time  to  favor  Zioii  had  come.  When  mon- 
archy had  done  its  best,  or  worst,  and  utterly 
failed  to  elevate,  enlighten,  and  bless  the 
masses  of  mankind,  then  America  was  dis- 
covered, and  the  "Stone  Kingdom"  was  set 
np,  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  snffering  millions 
of  earth.  All  through  the  long  ages  of  the 
world — ages  of  experiment  in  monarchy — 
ages  of  failure  to  bring  forth  the  ripe  fruit  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty — ages  of  despotism 
— ages  of  martyrdom  and  blood — ages  that 
were  necessary,  it  is  true,  to  teach  the  world 
the  glory  of  the  Christian  religion  and  human 
freedom — all  through  these  ages,  God's  eternaU 
plans  were  being  fulfilled,  preparatory  to  the 
setting  up  of  the  government  of  Israel  Re- 
stored^ in  the  Fifth  Nationality. 

Y.  5.  "For  before  the  harvest,  when  the 
bloom  is  full,  and  before  the  blossom  becomes 
ripened  grapes,  he  cuts  off  the  twigs  with  pru- 
ning knives,  and  the  tendrils  he  casts  out  that 
he  cuts  off."  With  this  treatment  of  a  vine- 
yard, no  fruit  could  ripen.  Notwithstanding 
the  bloom  is  abundant,  and .  the  outlook  most 
hopeful,  yet  if  pruning  knives  cut  off  all  the 
twigs   bearing  grapes,  the   vineyard  is,    and 


86  THE   STOI^E   KINGDOM. 

must  be,  fruitless.  So  with  this  land,  during 
all  the  long  ages  that  it  was  '^  waiting,"  un- 
discovered. N'otwithstanding  its  vast  re- 
sources and  blooming  prospects,  it  brought 
forth  no  fruit  to  maturity — no  ripened  offer- 
ings to  the  praise  of  Almighty  grace. 

Y.  6.  "  They  shall  be  left  together  to  the 
wild  birds  of  the  mountains  and  to  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  land,  and  wild  birds  shall 
summer  thereon,  and  all  the  wild  beasts  of 
the  land  shall  winter  thereon."  This  is  ex- 
pressive of  utter  neglect,  and  desolation.  This 
place  of  the  Church,  in  "  the  land  shadowed 
with  wings,"  was  left  for  ages  to  the  wild 
birds  of  the  mountains  and  to  the  wild  beasts 
of  the  land,  waiting  the  march  of  Provi- 
dence and  the  fulfillment  of  prophec}^. 

V.  7.  ''At  that  time  a  gift  shall  be  offered 
to  Jehovah  of  Hosts — a  people  tall  and  naked, 
and  from  a  people  terrible  from  their  begin- 
ning, and  far  away — a  nation  most  mighty, 
and  treading  down  their  enemies,  whose  land 
streams  [or  floods]  divide,  to  the  place  of  the 
name  of  Jehovah  of  Hosts — Mount  Zion." 

^'At  that  time  " — when  His  banner  is  lifted 
up  upon  these  mountains,  after  countless  wait- 


THE   TWO    AMERICAS.  87 

ing  ages — when  the  Stone  Kingdom  is  set  up, 
a  gift  shall  be  brought  to  Jehovah  of  Hosts  of 
"  a  people  tall  and  naked."  Thus  one  nation 
is  represented  as  bringing  another  nation  in 
its  arms  and  offering  it  to  Jehovah  of  Hosts. 
And  have  not  the  Churches  of  the  United 
States  sent  out  the  Gospel  to  the  Indian 
tribes,  from  the  earliest  times,  and  whole 
tribes  have  been  civilized  and  Christianized? 
Thus  fulfilling  the  prophecy  of  one  nation 
offering  another  as  a  gift  to  Jehovah  of 
Hosts.  And  then  the}^  in  their  turn  are 
represented  as  bringing  gifts  to  the  Lord  of 
Hosts.  In  this  ancient  Israel  differs  from 
Israel  restored.  Whereas,  the  one  was  ordered 
to  drive  out  all  the  Canaanites,  and  make  no 
alliance  with  them,  the  other  offers  some  of 
the  tribes  as  a'  gift  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts — "  to 
the  place  of  the  name  of  Jehovah  of  Hosts — 
Mount  Zion,"  /.  e.,  to  the  place  of  His  Church, 
and  where  His  glory  is  manifested. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

BOUNDARIES  OF   THE  LAND  OF   ISRAEL  RE- 
STORED GIVEN. 

Its  Division  into  Thirteen  States. — Ezek.  xlvii.  xlviii. 

"  JffTHUS  saitli  the  Lord  Jeliovali.  This  shall 
f]^  "be  the  border  whereby  ye  shall  inherit 
the  land  according  to  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel.  Joseph  shall  have  two  portions — (/.  e., 
in  all  thirteen  States.)  And  ye  shall  inherit 
it  one  as  well  as  another;  concerning  the 
which  I  lifted  up  my  hand,  to  give  it  nnto 
your  fathers  ;  and  this  land  sliall  fall  unto 
you  for  inheritance.  And  this  shall  be  the 
border  of  the  land  toward  the  north  side  from 
the  great  sea."  .  .  .  Then  follows  a  number 
of  names  on  this  north  border,  that  corres- 
pond in  part  with  the  Mosaic  division  in 
Numbers.  These  names  in  Ezekiel's  division 
must  be  symbolic,  for  this  line  extends  to  the 
east  sea  :  but  in  the  Mosaic  division  there 
was  no  east  sea  for  an  eastern  border.     "And 

88 


BOUNDARIES.  89 

tlie  east  side  ye  shall  measure  .... 
from  the  border  unto  the  east  sea.  And  this 
is  the  east  side.  And  the  soiith  side,  south- 
ward from  the  palm-tree,  tamar,  even  to  the 
waters  of  strife,  (south  of)  the  consecrated 
possession  to  the  great  sea.  And  this  is  the 
south  side,  southward."  IS'otice  how  definite- 
ly this  south   boundary  is  given.     "  The  west 

side   also  shall  be    the  great  sea 

This  is  the  west  side.  So  shall  you  divide 
this  land  unto  you,  according  to  the  tribes  of 
Israel.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  ye 
shall  divide  it  by  lot,  for  an  inheritance  unto 
you,  and  to  the  strangers  that  sojourn  among 
you,  which  shall  beget  children  among  you : 
and  they  shall  be  unto  you  as  born  in  the 
country,  among  the  children  of  Israel;  they 
shall  have  inheritance  with  you  among  the 
tribes  of  Israel.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass 
that,  in  what  tribe  the  stranger  sojourneth, 
there  shall  ye  give  him  his  inheritance,  saith 
the  Lord  God." 

Then,  in  the  48th  chapter,  we  find  the  names 
of  all  the  thirteen  tribes,  with  their  portion  of 
land  assigned  to  each,running  from  east  to  west. 
The  portion  of  Levi  lay  between  Judali  and 


90  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

Benjamin.  The  insj^irecl  writer,  in  drawing  a 
map  of  the  country,  mentions  the  course  of 
each  portion,  stating  that  it  must  run  from 
east  to  west.  This  fact  is  expressed  with 
great  emphasis.  So  that  all  the  portions 
extended  from  the  sea  on  the  east,  to  the 
great  sea  on  the  west.  Dr.  Scott  says  "As 
no  such  division  took  place  after  the  captivity, 
this  must  be  understood  of  future  events. 
This  division  of  the  land  differs  entirely  from 
that  which  was  made  in  the  days  of  Joshua  ; 
and  it  is  not  probable  that  it  should  ever  lit- 
erally take  place."  Of  course  this  division  of 
the  land  can  never  take  place  in  old  Palestine, 
because  it  will  always  lack  borders.  It  will 
always  lack  an  eastern  sea  for  a  boundary, 
and  also  a  sea  on  the  south  side.  But  there 
is  a  country  that  Ezekiel  and  Isaiah  and 
Daniel  and  John  saw,  that  tills  the  bill  exact- 
ly;  that  furnishes  an  "eastern  sea,  and  the 
great  western  sea."  And  "  the  south  side, 
southward  from  the  palm-tree  [or  place  of 
palm-trees]  unto  the  Avaters  of  strife  [or  the 
stormy  Gulf  of  Mexico  south  of]  the  conse- 
crated possession  unto  the  great  sea.  And 
this    is    the    south    side,    southward."     The 


BOTTKBAMES.  91 

south  boundary  of  the  United  States  is  aston- 
ishingly accurately  given.  And  on  the  north, 
"  the  border  from  the  sea  shall  be  surrounded 
with  clouds,  liazar-enon^  the  border  of  the 
traffic,  damaseli^  and  north  northward,  and 
the  border  a  fortress,  liamatli^  and  this  is 
the  north  side."  The  Hebrew  names  used  in 
the  boundaries  of  Israel  restored,  must  be 
symbolic.  It  would  not  have  done  to  have 
given  the  literal  names  of  the  present  borders, 
for  then  the  prophecy  would  have  been  under- 
stood before  the  seal  was  broken,  and  before 
the  period  of  ''  the  time  of  the  end  "  had  come. 
But  now  "  the  time  of  the  end"  has  come,  and 
we  may  legitimately  inquire  for  the  symbolic 
meaning. 

Next  let  us  point  out  some  of  the  coinci- 
dences between  Israel  restored,  as  described 
by  Ezekiel  in  chapters  xlvii :  and  xlviii :  and 
the  United  States,  and  see  how  the  descrip- 
tion fits  our  land. 

1st.  The  north  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  beginning  on  the  Pacific  coast :  this  is 
specifically  mentioned  "  from  the  great  sea  " 
on  the  west,  and  coming  east  the  border  is 
"  surrounded  with  clouds  "  for  more   than  a 


99  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

1,000  miles  through  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
This  may  mean  political  clouds,  as  the  fulfill- 
ment shows,  as  well  as  clouds  of  vapor.  Then 
"by  "  the  border  of  traffic."  This  may  mean 
the  limit  of  trade  and  commerce  on  the  North, 
as  it  is  in  some  parts  of  the  line  ;  or  it  may 
mean  "  the  border  of  traffic  "  on  the  great 
Lakes  between  British  America  and  the  United 
States — then  on  through  "  pine  forests  "  to 
"  the  east  sea,"  or  Atlantic  :  this  fully  corres- 
ponds with  "  the  pine  forests  "  of  Maine,  and 
all  that  region.  But  there  are  other  Hebrew 
words  named  in  this  border,  to  the  roots  of 
which  lexicographers  fail  to  give  us  any  clue, 
or  any  satisfactory  signification :  which  re- 
minds us  that  the  north  border  is  "  surrounded 
with  clouds,"  which  may  not  be  cleared  awaj^ 
till  after  the  coming  storm,  spoken  of  by  the 
prophets.  And  as  the  north  boundary,  in 
Ezekiel's  field  notes,  is  "  surrounded  with 
clouds  "  and  much  uncertainty,  so  was  the 
north  boundary  of  the  United  States  for  a 
long  time  a  subject  of  great  perplexity.  In 
V  these  and  other  points,  the  shadow  and  the 
substance  coincide. 
2nd.     The  south  side  of  the  United  States, 


BOUNDARIES.  93 

beginning  at  Florida,  or  place  of  "  the  palm 
tree."  Tamar,  is  a  generic  term,  and  has  many 
species,  some  of  which  grow  in  Florida,  and 
probably  all  might  be  cultivated  successfully. 
From  thence  along  the  coast  of  "  the  waters 
of  strife,"  or  the  stormy  Gulf,  which  bounds 
on  the  south,  "  the  consecrated  possession/* 
and  then  on  to  "  the  great  sea,"  or  Pacific 
ocean,  I  presume  on  the  same  latitude,  since 
all  the  tribes  had  their  portion  marked  out. 
side  by  side  of  each  other,  from  the  east  to 
the  west.  The  southern  boundary  must  also 
be  correspondingly  straight  from  east  to  west. 
This  is  a  remarkable  coincidence.  On  the 
south  side,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  graphically 
described  as  "  the  waters  of  strife,"  or  stormy, 
lying  south  of  ''  the  consecrated  possession," 
or  land  of  Israel  restored. 

3rd,  ''  The  east  side  ye  shall  measure  from 
the  border  .  .  .  unto  the  east  sea.  And 
this  is  the  east  side."  In  like  manner,  the 
Atlantic  ocean  lies  on  the  east  side  of  our 
country,  and  corresponds  to  '""  the  east  sea,"  as 
seen  in  Ezekiel's  vision  and  map  of  survey. 

4th.  '•  The  west  side  shall  also  be  the 
great   sea."      This   corresponds   exactly  with 


94  THE   STONE    KINGDOM. 

the  Pacific  ocean  on  the  west  border  of 
America.  Tlie  shadow  and  the  substance  fit 
witli  wonderful  exactness.  "  Tlie  great  sea  '-' 
and  the  Pacific  ocean  coincide. 

5tli.  Tlie  hand  in  all  the  thirteen  tribes,  as 
written  in  the  prophecy,  must  be  laid  out 
from  east  to  west.  And  as  shown  from  the 
field-notes  of  the  boundaries,  the  portion  of 
land  for  each  tribe  must  be  measured  from 
"the  east  sea"  to  "the  great  sea"  on  the 
west — from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  This 
plan  of  division,  for  each  portion,  is  specifi- 
cally giveii.  Now  let  us  behold  with  wonder 
the  coincidence  between  this  vision  and  our 
own  thirteen  States,  in  their  beginning.  In 
1663,  Charles  II.,  King  of  England,  granted  the 
province  of  Carolina  to  eight  noblemen.  It 
lay  between  29'  and  36'  30'  north  latitude. 
This  embraced  all  of  N'orth  Carolina,  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  three  of  the  oldtliirtee:i 
States.  And  the  territory  of  this  grant  ex- 
tended east  and  west,  "from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,"  coinciding  with  the  divine 
pattern,  although  the  contracting  parties  cared 
nothing  and  knew  nothing  about  the  divine 
programme. 


BOUNDARIES.  95 

111  1609,  James  I.,  King  of  England,  granted 
the  province  of  Virginia  to  the  London  Com- 
pany. The  grant  was  to  reach  200  miles  north 
of  Old  Point  Comfort,  and  200  miles  south, 
and  to  extend  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
This  embraced  Virginia  and  Maryland,  two 
more  of  the  old  thirteen  States,  and  brings 
them  in  for  a  full  share  of  the  territory. 

About  1615,  King  James  I.  granted  a  patent 
to  Captain  John  Smith  for  a  colony,  called 
"New  England."  It  was  all  that  territory 
lying  between  46^  and  48^  north  latitude 
Joining  the  grant  to  the  "  London  Company  " 
on  the  south,  it  extended  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  covering  all  the  territory  of  the 
other  eight  States  of  the  old  thirteen — and 
extended  "  from  the  east  to  the  west."  There 
were  other  charters  granted  which  lapped  and 
interlapped.  But  enough  has  been  written  to 
show  that  the  grants  to  the  original  thirteen 
States,  extended  from  "  the  east  sea  "  to  "  the 
great  sea  "  on  the  west,  coinciding  perfectly 
with  the  division  of  the  land  that  Ezekiel  saw 
and  surveyed.  However  strange  these  coin-  y 
cidences  may  appear,  they  are  no  less  strange 
than  true.  "  Man's  heart  deviseth  his  way, 
but  the  Lord  directeth  his  steps." 


96  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

6tli.  Another  remarkable  coincidence  is, 
the  i^ortions  of  all  the  thirteen  tribes  of  Israel 
began  their  settlements  on  the  east  side,  and 
moved  on  to  the  west,  according  to  the  vision 
of  Ezekiel.  And  just  so  in  Israel  restored, 
they  all  began  on  the  east  side,  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  and  moved  on  with  settlement  and 
civilization  to  the  west,  or  Pacific.  Surelj 
this  is  not  the  work  of  chance,  but  the  exe- 
cution of  a  grand  plan,  directed  by  the  hand 
of  Providence.  Here  we  see  multitudes  of 
men  of  different  nationalities,  unwittingly 
carrying  out  the  divine  programme,  revealed 
more  than  2,500  years  ago.  Truly  the  Bible  is 
God's  word,  written  by  omniscience. 

7th.  Another  coincidence  is,  there  were 
twelve  tribes  in  Israel,  but  Joseph  had  two 
tribes,  making  thirteen.  So  in  the  United 
States  there  were  twelve  States.  But  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Delaware,  William  Penn's  two 
States,  were  under  one  governor,  or  pro- 
prietary, although  they  each  had  a  sej)arate 
and  distinct  Assembly,  from  1703  to  1776, 
Then  they  became  se^^arate  and  independent 
States,  which  make  up  the  thirteen.  This 
wonderful  coincidence  was  not  of  chance,  but 


BOUNDARIES.  97 

tlie  workings  of  an  eternal  plan.  "  So  shall 
ye  divide  the  land  unto  you,  according  to  the 
tribes  of  Israel."  And  so  it  has  been.  The 
divine  pattern  has  been  followed  and  realized 
in  the  great  Restoration. 

8th.  "In  Avhat  tribe  the  stranger  sojourn- 
etli,  there  shall  ye  give  him  his  inheritance, 
saith  the  Lord  God."  This  pointed  to  an 
enlarged  condition  from  one  family,  to  all  the 
families  of  earth  under  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation. When  men  become  Christians,  then  / 
they  become  Israelites,  and  children  of 
Abraham,  and  are  entitled  to  their  inheri- 
tance. In  whatever  tribe  [or  State]  the 
stranger  sojourneth,  there  he  may  have  his^ 
inheritance.  And  so  it  is  in  the  United 
States  ;  strangers  may  come  from  all  parts  of 
the  world,  and  cast  in  their  lot  with  us,  and 
purchase  for  themselves  an  inheritance,  and 
be  j)rotected  by  the  laws  of  the  country. 
''And  ye  shall  inherit  it  one  as  well  as  an- 
other": there  can  be  no  difference  between 
the  Jew  and  the  Gentile  in  Christian  Israel. 
This  prophecy  clearly  describes  the  resto- 
ration "in  the  latter  days,"  under  the  ex- 
panding glory   of  the   Gospel   dispensation. 


08  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

when  the  children  of  Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth, 
shall  become  by  faith  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
true  Israelites,  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise.  Thus  the  Land  and  the  Church 
are  strangely  connected — the  civil  and  the 
religious  seem  to  go  hand  in  hand  all  through 
the  enlarged  condition  of  the  great  resto- 
ration. So  in  this  prophecy  there  is  a  par- 
ticular land  assigned  to  Israel,  with  metes 
and  bounds  given  it,  and  the  number  of  States 
specified,  to  'begin  witli.  And  this  last  vision 
of  Ezekiel  corresponds  with  the  Stone  which 
was  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands. 
It  was  to  increase  and  increase,  until  it  became 
a  great  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth. 
This  last  vision  also  corresponds  with  "  the 
ancient  of  days,''^  who  came  after  the  four 
beasts  which  Daniel  saw.  When  he  came  he 
had  but  3,000,000  to  minister  unto  him,  but  he 
had  "a  rod  of  iron  given  to  him,  to  rule  all 
nations,"  and  to  fill  the  earth  with  his  glory. 
In  like  manner,  this  wonderful  vision  of 
Ezekiel  closes  with  a  small  beginning  of  thir- 
teen States,  to  start  the  world  on  a  higher 
plane  of  development.  But  small  as  its 
beginnings  were,   its   mission  is  to  reach  to, 


BOUNDARIES.  99 

and  bless  the  ends  of  the  earth  with  liberty 
and  life. 

The  power  of  the  Gospel  through  this 
people  is  demonstrated  in  the  same  chapter, 
by  the  water  which  Ezekiel  saw  flowing  from 
the  house  and  the  altar,  small  at  first ;  but 
further  down,  the  stream  became  deeper,  even 
to  the  ankles ;  and  further  on,  it  came  to  the 
knees  ;  still  flowing  with  an  increasing  swell, 
"the  waters  were  to  the  loins";  still  flowing 
witli  a  widening  sweep  and  a  rising  power,  it 
became  "  a  river  that  could  not  be  passed 
over."  So  with  the  unnoticed  and  despised 
waters  of  life  and  liberty,  which  flowed  flrst 
from  the  land  of  Israel's  restoration.  This 
stream  of  influence  is  widening  and  deepening 
in  its  flow\  There  is  a  divine  power  about  it 
that  elevates  the  human  mind,  and  gives  it 
higher  aspirations.  And  the  trees  that  grow 
on  either  bank  of  this  river,  bear  fruit  for  the 
nourishment  of  the  people :  and  their  leaves 
are  ''  for  the  healing  of  the  nations."  This 
stream  has  powder  to  bear  down  and  sweep 
away  all  tyranny,  oppression,  and  every 
thing  that  opposes  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
When  this  government  was  not  half  a  century 


100  THE    STONE   KINGDOM. 

old,  the  stream  of  its  influence  shook  terribly, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  every  throne  in 
Europe.  If  such  was  the  eff'ect  of  this  stream, 
when  so  small,  what  will  the  surging  floods 
do  ?  Surely  the  beginning  is  hopeful,  but  the 
ending  will  be  the  glory  of  the  world.  The 
prophet  tells  us  "the  greatness  of  the  king- 
dom under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given 
to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High, 
whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom, 
and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  Him." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  CHURCH 

And  the  Land  of  Her  Restoration. — Isa.  xlix.  11-26. 

W^  this  chapter  we  have  some  most  cheering 
^  prophecies  of  the  Church,  of  her  de- 
liverance from  oppression,  of  her  wonderful 
enlargement  and  glorious  triumphs ;  also,  of 
the  land  of  Israel,  or  the  place  of  the  Church's  / 
restoration — our  own  United  States — of  her 
great  development  of  physical  resources  and 
political  power :  all  these  are  graphically  fore- 
shadowed by  the  prophet,  and  their  reality  is 
demonstrated  by  fulfillment. 

Y.  11.  "I  will  appoint  all  my  mountains  for  a 
highway,  and  my  roads  shall  be  made  high." 
The  language  here  implies  that  gathering  ar- 
mies would  soon  be  on  the  march  to  this  land 
described.  The  preparations  were  vast,  but  not 
greater  than  necessary.      As  "  the  mountains 

of  Israel "  is  an  expression   frequently    used 

101 


103  THE   STOT^E   KIISTGDOM. 

for  the  whole  land  of  ancient  Israel,  so  in  this 
prophecy  we  take  "  all  my  mountains "  to 
mean  all  my  mountains  of  Israel  restored,  or 
the  whole  land.  The  word  umslllotha  means 
a  way  cast  up — a  causeway — built  with  tim- 
bers across  the  road.  May  this  not  mean  the 
system  of  railroads  which  the  prophet  saw  in 
these  times,  then  "far  off,"  that  is  now  form- 
ing a  network  all  over  our  country  from  sea 
to  sea?  Are  not  these  pre-eminently  high- 
ways, over  which  all  the  armies  of  immigrants 
pass  which  come  to  us  from  every  quarter  of 
the  globe  ? 

"  My  roads  shall  be  made  high."  There  will 
be  ample  room  for  Christians  of  every  name 
to  come  without  fear  of  persecution.  They 
need  no  longer  hide  in  dens  and  caves  and  in 
secret  places  in  the  wilderness  for  fear.  But 
here  they  may  travel  openly  on  the  great  high- 
ways, fearing  no  more  the  blood-hounds  of 
cruelty  which  so  often  yelped  on  their  tracL:. 
Here  they  may  worship  God  as  they  please. 

The  Church  and  the  land  of  the  Church  seem 
intimately  connected  in  all  these  prophecies. 
Not  that  all  the  people  in  this  land  are  or  will 
be  Christians,  any  more  than  that  all  the  Jews 


THE   CHURCH.  103 

in  ancient  Israel  were  Israelites.  For  in  Is- 
rael restored,  as  well  as  in  ancient  Israel, 
millions  of  devils  in  human  shape  may  be 
found.  Ancient  Israel,  in  the  days  of  Ahab 
and  Jezebel,  was  almost  entirely  swallowed 
up  in  idolatr3^  Elijah  described  those  times 
plaintively  :  "  For  the  children  of  Israel  have 
forsaken  Thy.  covenant,  thrown  down  Thine 
altars  and  slain  Thy  j)rophets  with  the  sword ; 
and  I,  even  I,  only  am  left,  and  they  seek  my 
life  to  take  it  away."  This  is  indeed  a  sad 
picture.  The  objection  that  this  country  is 
too  wicked  to  be  Israel  restored  falls  to  the 
ground  when  compared  and  contrasted  with 
ancient  Israel  under  such  rulers  as  Ahab  and 
Jezebel  and  Manasseh  and  Jeroboam  and 
others  of  like  character. 

Y.  12.  "  Behold  these  shall  come  from  far  off, 
and  behold  these  from  the  north  and  from  the 
west,  and  these  from  the  land  of  Sinim." 

The  prophet  had  just  declared  that  ''  all  my 
mountains"  shall  be  appointed  for  "a  high- 
way." And  now  he  calls  the  attention  of  the 
world  to  "  behold  these  shall  come  from  far  off, 
and  behold  these  from  the  north  [of  Europe] 
and  from  the  west  [of  Europe]."     The  fulfill- 


104  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

ment  sliows  this,  and  the  facts  in  the  case  are 
better  interpreters  of  the  Scripture  than  vague, 
a  priori  theories.  Behold  great  multitudes 
coming  from  every  quarter  of  the  compass  to 
the  Land  of  restoration.      Multitudes  fleeing 

v/  from  tyranny  and  oppression  and  coming  to  a 
land  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  to  a  land  of 
an  open  Bible  and  great  physical  prosperity 
and  of  inexhaustible  resources,  to  a  land 
where  the  Lord  alone  is  King  of  the  con- 
science.    What  land  on  earth  can  this  be  but 

"^our  own  United  States  ?  To  no  other  land  on 
earth  is  so  great  a  migration  directing  the 
march  of  its  moving  millions — to  the  Stone 
Kingdom,  to  the  great  fifth  nationalit3^  or  to 
Israel  restored,  just  as  the  prophets  foretold. 
"  And  these  from  the  land  of  Sinim."  Com- 
mentators are  generally  agreed  that  Sinim,  or 
^  Sina,  is  China.  The  prophet  beholds  with  as- 
tonishment vast  multitudes  coming  from  every 
quarter  but  especially  "  these  from  the  land 
of  Sinim,"  or  China.  That  great  country  has 
been  exclusive  and  shut  uj)  to  itself  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  not  mingling  and  commingling 
with  other  nations  in  religion  or  commerce, 
but  behold,  even  its  people  are  breaking  over 


THE   CHUECH.  105 

their  barriers  and  by  some  strange  impulse 
are  joining  the  great  migration.  Hundreds  of 
thousands  have  already  come  to  our  shores 
from  the  west.  Their  coming  has  startled  our 
people  even  more  than  was  the  propliet.  These  ' 
are  times  of  wonderful  fulfillment  of  wonderful 
prophecies.  "  These  from  the  land  of  Sinim," 
coming  "from  the  west"  shows  that  old  Pales- 
tine never  could  be  the  land  of  restoration 
spoken  of,  because  the  Chinese  never  could 
reach  that  land  from  that  direction  ;  but  com- 
ing from  the  west,  across  the  Pacific,  of  course 
they  must  land  on  our  western  coast,  as  they 
have  done  by  scores  of  thousands.  All  this\/ 
prophecy  points  to  the  United  States  as  re- 
stored Israel  with  unerring  accuracy.  Its  ful- 
fillment is  its  own  demonstration. 

V.  13.  "Shout,  O  heavens,  and  rejoice,  0 
earth,  let  the  mountains  break  forth  into  joy! 
because  Jehovah  has  comforted  His  people, 
and  He  will  have  compassion  on  His  afflicted." 
The  prophet  saw  the  panorama  of  God's  prov- 
idence passing.  It  seemed  to  him  as  already 
realized.  He  saw  the  Church  coming  out  of 
the  wilderness,  from  her  long  afflictions  and 
horrible  persecutions.     He  saw  God's  Church, 


106  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

or  Israel,  restored  to  more  than  ancient  glory- 
in  tlieir  own  land,  together  with  millions  of 
the  oppressed  of  earth  who  had  longed  and 
prayed  for  civil  and  religions  liberty  to  devel- 
op their  resources  according  to  their  convic- 
tions of  right.  He  saw  them  coming  from 
^  every  quarter  to  build  up  their  own  great 
nationality — the  fifth  and  last  form  of  govern- 
ment which  was  to  be  developed  with  increas  • 
ing  glory  from  age  to  age.  They  were  flushed 
with  hope  and  joyful  expectation.  The  pros- 
pect was  transcendently  glorious  in  the  histo- 
ry of  earth.  Hence  he  calls  upon  the  heav- 
ens to  shout  and  the  earth  to  rejoice  and  the 
mountains  to  break  forth  into  joy,  "  because 
Jehovah  had  comforted  His  people  and  had 
compassion  on  His  afflicted." 

Y.  14.  "  And  yet  Zion  said,  Jehovah  hath 
forsaken  me,  and  the  Lord  hath  forgotten  me." 
How  natural  for  us  to  complain  in  the  midst 
of  affliction.  Zion,  or  the  Church  of  God,  had 
been  sorely  tried  and  terribly  afflicted  for 
many  long  centuries.  She  had  been  tyrannized 
over,  robbed  and  oppressed  so  long ;  her  beau- 
tiful garments  had  been  so  often  torn  or  burned 
with  fire  or  bespattered  with  her  own  blood  ; 


THE   CHURCH.  107 

and  all  lier  brightest  earthly  hopes  seemed 
so  utterly  blasted,  that  she  said,  "  All  these 
things  are  against  me" — "Jehovah  hath  for- 
saken me,  and  the  Lord  hath  forgotten  me." 
The  glorious  change  described  above  was  not 
the  result  of  the  Church's  confidence  in  her 
God,  for  she  said,  "  The  Lord  hath  forgotten 
me,"  but  it  is  a  grand  illustration  of  the  divine 
sovereignty  in  carrying  out  His  eternal  pro- 
gramme for  His  own  glory  and  for  the  infinite 
betterment  of  His  people,  both  as  to  civil 
government,  to  bless  the  world  thereby  with 
larger  liberty,  and  also  in  an  infinitely 
greater  manner  to  promote  the  glory  of  His 
redemption. 

Y.  15.  "  Will  a  woman  forget  her  sucking 
child,  from  having  compassion  on  the  son  of 
her  womb  ?  Also  even  these  will  forget,  and 
yet  I  will  not  forget  thee."  The  unfailing  and 
constant  affection  of  God  for  His  children  is 
here  eloquently  expressed.  A  mother  may 
forget  her  child,  but  "  I  will  not  forget  thee." 
The  tenderest  ties  known  on  earth  may  be 
broken,  but  "  I  will  not  forsake  thee." 

V.  16.  "Behold,  upon  both  palms  I  have 
engraven  thee ;  thy  walls  are   always  before 


108  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

me."  'It  is  impossible  for  me  to  forget  thee 
or  tlie  promises  I  have  made  to  thee.  Both 
my  blood-bought  Church  and  the  land  of  her 
restoration  are  ever  before  me.  My  promises, 
though  extended  through  thousands  of  years, 
are  not  forgotten.  Their  fulfillment,  though 
long  delayed,  shall  gloriously  and  literally 
come  to  pass.' 

y.  17.  ''  Thy  sons  hasten  to  thee.  Thy 
wasters  and  thy  destroyers  shall  go  out  from 
thee,"  /.  e.,  depart  from  thee.  "  Thy  sons  hasten 
to  thee  "  is  another  announcement  of  the  great 
migration  that  has  set  in  to  the  land  of  the 
promised  restoration.  Has  not  this  prophecy 
been,  and  is  it  not  now  being,  wonderfully 
^realized  ?  Many  thousands  are  hastening  to 
our  shores  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  "  Thy 
sons  "  does  not  imply  that  all  the  host  of  im- 
migrants are  Christians,  or  ever  will  be,  any 
more  than  that  all  the  ''sons  of  Israel"  were 
pious.  For  the  country  must  be  developed 
and  the  government  must  be  made  powerful. 
Both  Churcli  and  State,  though  separate  and 
distinct,  must  flourish  in  this  land  to  accom- 
plish their  great  mission  ecclesiastically,  po- 
litically and  revolutionary  among  the  nations. 


THE   CHURCH.  109 

An  absolutely  lioly  nation  will  never  be  found 
on  this  eartli,  not  even  in  the  noontide  of  the 
millennial  reign.  Such  an  ideal  nation  is 
without  precedent  or  prophecy  and  is  subli- 
mated utopianism. 

"  Thy  wasters  and  thy  destroyers  shall  go  y 
out  from  thee."  The  British  armies  that  wast- 
ed our  people  for  so  many  years  and  oj)posed 
the  establishment  of  our  government  and  our 
matchless  system  of  civil  and  religious  liber- 
ty, have  gone  out  from  us.  They  fought 
against  the  j^rovidence  of  God,  and  tliat  prov- 
idence was  too  strong  for  them.  The  fierce 
and  warlike  Indian  tribes  that  wasted  our 
forefathers  and  destroyed  their  property,  have 
gone  out  from  us.  They  have  wasted  away,  ^ 
until  now  scarcely  a  shadow  of  their  former 
greatness  is  left  to  witness  the  astonishing 
fulfillment  of  this  part  of  the  eternal  pro- 
gramme. 

V.  18.  "Lift  up  thine  eyes  round  about  and 
see,  all  of  them  are  gathered  together,  they 
are  come  to  thee.  As  I  live,  saith  Jehovah, 
that  all  of  them  as  an  ornament  thou  shalt  put 
on  and  bind  them  as  a  bride."  This  seems  to 
be  a  glimpse  of  the  promised  country  further 


110  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

on  in  its  history  than  was  seen  in  the  preced- 
ing verses.  It  represents  the  land  as  already 
occupied  by  many  thousands,  with  all  the 
equipments  of  the  Church  and  a  well-regulated 
government.  "  As  I  live,  saith  Jehovah,  that  all 
of  them  as  an  ornament  thou  shalt  put  on,  and 
bind  them  as  a  bride."  Thus  by  this  great  mul- 
titude of  forces  all  parts  of  the  land  of  the 
Church  shall  be  made  beautiful,  by  improved 
agriculture,  by  a  thrifty  population,  by 
schools  and  churches,  by  sobriety  and  virtue, 
while  the  land  and  the  peoi3le  enjoy  their 
Sabbaths — all,  even  all  these,  ''  shall  be  put 
on  and  bound  to  her,  as  doeth  a  bride  her 
beautiful  ornaments."  Then  the  Church  with 
her  propitious  surroundings  shall  "  look  forth 
as  the  morning,  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the 
sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 

Y.  19.  "Then  thy  ruins  and  thy  wastes  and 
thy  desolated  land,  even  at  this  time,  thou 
shalt  be  too  narrow  for  the  inhabitants,  and 
the}^  that  swallowed  thee  up  shall  be  far 
away."  This  difhcult  passage  seems  to 
mean ;  instead  of  a  land  that  was  once  for 
untold  centuries,  waste  and  ruins  and  desola- 
tion, now,  because  of  the  great  intlux  of  in- 


THE   CHURCH.  Ill 

habitants,  is  too  narrow.  Its  prosperity  is  so 
great,  more  territory  is  demanded.  It  is  no 
longer  wastes  and  ruins  and  desolation,  but 
crowded  witli  millions  and  enlivened  with  the 
bustle  of  labor  and  commerce  :  more  room  and  ^ 
more  territory  are  needed  for  its  increasing 
and  prosperous  multitudes.  "They  that 
swallowed  thee  uj) " — the  autocracies  and 
armies  of  the  old  world,  "  shall  be  far  away  " 
— beyond  the  seas,  so  that  they  cannot  hinder  / 
thy  growth  or  impede  thy  progress. 

Y.  20.  "  Again  the  children  which  thoushalt 
have  after  thou  hast  lost  the  other  [ancient 
Israel]  shall  say  in  thine  ears,  the  dwelling- 
place  is  too  narrow  for  me,  give  place  to 
me  that  I  may  dwell."  Enlargement,  exten-^. 
sion  and  exj)ansion,  is  a  prominent  charac- 
teristic of  Israel  restored.  "  The  Stone  that 
smote  the  image,  became  a  great  mountain, 
and  filled  the  whole  earth."  The  adjoining 
countries  and  nations  will  see  the  light  of 
Israel's  growth  and  partake  of  its  nature  and 
character.  And  thus  the  leaven  will  work,^ 
extending  her  borders  further  and  wider, 
while  the  aggressive  cry  of  conquest  will  be 
heard  in  every  direction,  '*  Give  place.    Make 


112  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

room  for  me,  that  I  may  dwell."  The  clwell- 
^ing  place  of  the  Church  is  to  be  co-extensive 
with  her  conquests  ;  and  ultimately  to  em 
brace  the  whole  world.  Such  is  the  divine 
programme.  All  "  the  thrones  are  to  be  cast 
down,"  and  "  the  saints  of  the  Most  High 
shall  take  the  kingdom  and  possess  the  king- 
dom forever,  even  forever  and  ever." 

Y.  21.  "And  thou  shalt  say  in  thy  heart. 
Who  hath  begotten  for  me  even  these,  seeing 
I  have  lost  my  children,  and  am  barren,  an 
exile  and  driven  out,  and  who  hath  brought 
up  these,  behold  I  was  left  alone,  these,  where 
were  they  ?" 

This  passage  seems  to  represent  ancient 
Israel  as  soliloquising,  saying,  Who  hath  be- 
gotten for  me  even  these,  seeing  I  have  lost  my 
children  and  am  barren,  an  exile  and  driven 
out,  a  cast-off  family,  and  who  hath  brought 
up  these — these  Christians,  children  of  Shem, 
Ham  and  Japheth  ?  Behold  I  was  left  alone, 
but  these  where  were  they,  and  whence  came 
they — this  great  nationality  of  Israel  restored, 
greater  in  numbers,  greater  in  power,  and 
greater  in  learning,  more  progressive  and 
aggressive  than  all  the  children  that  I  have 


THE   CHUKCII.  113 

lost  ?  They  claim  to  be,  and  are,  leaders  of 
tlie  world  in  tlioughfc,  in  invention,  in  civil  and 
religions  liberty,  in  all  the  higher  graces  of 
Christian  life  ;  ''  who  hath  bronght  nj)  these," 
and  whence  came  they  ?  "  Refrain  thy  voice 
from  Aveeping  and  thine  eyes  from  tears,  .  .  . 
there  is  hope  in  thine  end,  saitli  the  Lord,  that 
children,  \_L  e.^  spiritual  cliildren  of  Abraham 
or  Christians,]  shall  come  again  to  their  own 
border,"  in  the  day  of  their  great  restoration. 
Jer.  xxxi :  16, 17.  ''  For  if  the  casting  away 
of  them  [of  Ancient  Israel]  be  the  reconciling 
of  the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving  [of 
Israel  restored]  be  but  life  from  the  dead  ?" 
Rom.  xi :  15 — life  to  the  dead  nations  by  the 
purifying,  exalting  and  saving  power  of  the 
Gospel.  The  influence  of  the  government  of  y 
Israel  restored,  Avill  be  life  to  the  land  of  dead 
monarchies  and  autocracies.  Their  people 
will  rise  up  and  shake  off  the  grave-clothes  of 
despotism  and  start  on  higher  planes  of  devel- 
opment. And  in  this  manner  the  nations  will'^ 
"receive  life  from  the  dead." 

y.  22.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah,  Be- 
hold I  will  lift  up  to  the  nations  my  hand, 
and  I  will  set  up  my  banner  to  the  peoples, 


114  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

and  they  will  bring  thy  sons  in  their  arms 
and  thy  daughters  shall  be  carried  on  their 
shoulders."  The  Lord  is  here  represented  as 
beckoning  with  his  hand  to  the  nations,  and 
as  setting  up  his  banner  to  the  peoples,  sum- 
moning them  to  start  on  the  great  migration 
to  their  promised  land.  Their  sons  should  be 
carried  in  their  arms,  and  their  daughters  on 
their  shoulders.  They  would  not  wait  for 
expensive  preparation :  but  as  soon  as  God 
would  point  out  the  way  and  their  duty,  they 
would  leave  all  and  start  as  prom23tly  as  pos- 
sible, following  the  banner  of  His  providence, 
and  the  pointing  of  His  hand.  Has  this  pro- 
phecy not  been  fully  realized  in  the  discovery 
of  America  and  in  the  movement  of  the  mul- 
titudes from  the  nations  to  this  country? 
7 The  discovery  of  America  was  the  "banner 
lifted  up "  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
nations  and  people,  while  its  vast  resources, 
with  its  social,  civil  and  religious  privileges, 
was  "  the  hand  "  of  God  that  pointed  them 
hither. 

y.  23.  "  And  kings  shall  be  thy  nursing 
fathers  and  their  queens  thy  nursing  mothers  ; 
face  to  the  ground  shall  they  bow  to  thee  and 


THE   CHURCH.  115 

they  sliall  lick  the  dust  of  thy  feet,  and  thou 
shalt  know  that  I  am  Jehovah,  whose  waiters 
[L  e.,  those  who  wait  for  His  help]  shall  not 
be  ashamed." 

,  This  prophecy  is  now  our  history.  Did  not 
tlie  kings  and  queens  of  Europe  encourage 
colonization  in  America  for  near  two  centu- 
ries, by  their  money,  by  grants  of  land,  by 
charters,  and  in  various  ways?  It  was  an 
immense  undertaking.  It  required  brave 
hearts,  strong  arms,  and  the  wealth  of  kings 
and  queens  to  sup23ort  and  maintain  the  early 
colonization  of  our  country.  And  so  it  became 
the  pet  scheme  of  royalty  to  colonize  and 
settle  this  land.  This  was  God's  plan  to 
establish  Japheth  on  these  shores,  to  plant 
the  Church  here  and  to  roll  back  the  heathen 
tribes  that  occupied  the  territory.  A  multi- 
tude of  names  in  our  country  will  forever 
remind  us  that  kings  were  our  nursing  fathers 
and  their  queens  were  our  nursing  mothers.  »  .^.^'^ 
Maryland,  Virginia,  Carolina  and  Georgia,  y  ' 
among  the  old  thirteen  States,  and  King  Wil- 
liam, Prince  George,  Prince  Edward,  Queen 
Anne  and  dozens  more  counties  will  forever 
bear  testimony  to  the  fulfillment  of  this  proph- 


116  THE    STONE   KINGDOM. 

ecy.  As  time  rolls  on,  and  as  God's  eternal 
plans  are  unfolded  in  providence  as  tliey  are 
in  propliecy,  tlie  latter  2)art  of  this  verse  will 
be  as  literally  and  as  astonishingly  fulfilled. 
"  And  thou  slialt  know  that  I  am  Jehovah, 
whose  waiters  shall  not  be  ashamed."  They 
are  not  ashamed ;  and  they  even  now  see,  in 
part,  what  wonderful  tilings  He  has  done  ; 
and  they  confidently  "  wait "  for  the  rest  to 
be  hastened  in  its  time. 

Y.  24.  "  Shall  the  prey  be  taken  from  the 
mighty,  and  shall  the  captivity  of  the  right- 
eous be  delivered  V  As  the  hawk  swoops 
down  upon  the  dove  and  feeds  upon  the  help- 
less, so  have  popes  and  priests  and  merciless 
tyrants  preyed  upon  the  humble  followers  of 
Christ,  and  the  captivity  of  the  righteous  has 
been  drawn  out  through  many  centuries  of 
blood  and  torture.  But  now,  tliank  God, 
there  is  a  land  whose  Constitution  guarantees 
freedom  and  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  relig- 
ious privileges  to  His  people.  Thank  God, 
the  prey  has  been  taken  from  the  mighty,  and 
the  captivity  of  the  righteous  is  ended. 
^America  is  not  only  "  the  land  of  tlie  free  and 
the  home    of    the  brave,"    but   the,  heaven- 


THE   CHURCH.  117 

appointed  place  of  IsraePs  freedom,  deliver- 
ance from  oppression  and  restoration. 

Y.  25.  "  For  thus  saith  Jeliovali,  also  the 
captives  of  the  mighty  shall  be  taken  and  the 
prey  of  the  terrible  shall  be  delivered,  and 
with  thy  adversaries  I  will  contend  and  I  will 
save  thy  sons." 

And  has  the  Lord  not  contended  with  our 
adversaries  and  overthrown  them  ?  And  has 
He  not  established  this  great  providential 
government,  to  which  His  people  may  flee, 
and  have  fled  by  scores  of  thousands  ?  And 
here  He  hath  "  saved  his  sons,"  saved  His 
people  from  the  rack,  from  torture  and  despot- 
ism, and  hath  furnished  them  a  home,  where 
God  alone  is  King.  Truly  "  the  Lord  shall 
comfort  Zion,  he  will  comfort  all  her  w^aste 
places  and  he  will  make  her  wilderness  like 
Eden  and  her  desert  like  the  garden  of  the 
Lord ;  joy  and  gladness  shall  be  found  there- 
in, thanksgiving  and  the  voice  of  melody." 
Isa.  li :  4.  Strange  that  this  wonderful  pro- 
phec}",  and  still  more  wonderful  fulflllment 
have  not  been  understood  by  the  Church. 
Strange  that  this  long-sj)read  feast  of  heaven- 
ly love  has  never  been  uncovered  before.     It 


118  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

furnishes  bread  to  strengthen  and  wine  to 
cheer.  Let  it  be  read  from  the  mountain  tops. 
Let  it  be  heralded  from  shore  to  shore.  Let 
the  nations  know  that  "  tlie  Lord  is  Jehovah 
whose  waiters  shall  not  be  ashamed." 

Y.  2(5.  ''  And  I  will  make  thine  oppressors 
eat  their  own  flesh,  and,  as  with  new  wine, 
they  shall  be  drunken  with  their  own 
blood." 

I  take  this  to  be  a  metaphorical  expression 
to  show  the  deep  chagrin  and  drunken  rage 
of  oppressors  or  tyrants,  when  they  have  lost 
their  prey  and  when  they  have  lost  large  ter- 
ritory and  dominion.  It  was  a  bitter  pill  for 
England  to  give  up  all  right  and  title  to  the 
United  States,  and  to  acknowledge  our  inde- 
pendence and  nationality.  After  more  than 
an  hundred  years,  she  has  hardly  forgiven  us 
yet.  But  she  could  not  help  herself.  It  was 
the  Lord's  own  doing  for  the  glory  of  His 
Church,  and  for  a  blessing  to  this  sin-cursed 
world,  that  "  all  flesh  shall  know  that  I  Jeho- 
vah am  thy  Savior  and  thy  Redeemer,  the 
Mighty  One  of  Jacob."  The  covenant-keep- 
ing God  is  Israel's  God,  and  He  will  make  all 
His  promises  true. 


THE   CHURCH.  119 

"  Praise  ye  the  Lord.  Praise  Him  for  His 
miglity  acts:  praise  Him  according  to  His 
excellent  greatness.  Let  ever^^tliing  that 
hath  breath  praise  the  Lord.  Praise  ye  the 
Lord/' 


CHAPTER  YIII. 
SETTING  UP  OF  ISRAEL 

"The  Second  Time." — ha  xi.  lo-ib, 

HE  first  part  of  tliis  chapter  relates  to 
^  the  coming  of  Messiah,  to  the  right- 
eousness of  the  Gospel,  to  its  peaceable  con- 
quests and  wonderful  moral  transformations. 
The  prophet  here  seems  to  give  a  general  view 
of  Messiah's  reign,  calling  attention  to  grand 
results  ratlier  than  to  the  means  of  their 
accomplishment.  TJie  idea  of  His  spiritual 
reign  in  and  over  the  children  of  men  is 
mainly  intended.  But  in  the  latter  part  of 
this  chapter,  the  prophet  describes  another 
development  of  the  Rod  of  Jesse  more  defi- 
nitely and  concisely.  As  Messiah,  or  the 
Lord's  Anointed,  ruled  in  ancient  Israel,  so 
Christ,  or  His  Anointed,  rules  in  the  N'ew 
Testament  Israel,  the   same   Lord   over  both 

dispensations.     The  Church  of  God  was  "Is-^/ 
120 


SETTIJS-G   UP   OF   ISRAEL.  121 

rael,"  and  is  ''  Israel,"  the  same  in  ancient  as  / 
in  modern  times.  The  Church  under  this  dis- 
pensation is  marked  by  an  enlarged  develop- 
ment and  change  of  dress.  In  the  ancient 
econoni}^,  one  family  was  developed  in  types 
and  symbols,  both  as  to  the  true  religion  and 
the  true  government,  giving  ample  instruction 
in  every  department  symbolically.  In  the  ^ 
new  economy,  we  have,  or  are  to  have,  the 
realization  of  this  divine  religion  in  all  the 
families  of  earth.  In  ancient  Israel,  in  the 
days  of  the  Judges,  there  was  a  divinely  ap- 
pointed theocratic-republican  government,  as 
a  beautiful  symbol.  In  the  new  economy,  we 
must  look  for  its  realization  in  grander  pro- 
portions, in  the  setting  up  of  Israel  "  the 
second  time."  As  the  religion  of  ancient  Israel  / 
is  to  be  develojDed  into  the  world-wide  religion 
of  the  new  economy,  so  the  symi)olic,  theo- 
cratic-republican government  of  ancient  Israel 
is  to  be  realized  in  the  government  of  Israel 
restored,  under  the  world-embracing  Christian 
dispensation.  As  ancient  Israel  had  a  place  -^ 
on  the  earth  assigned  it,  with  metes  and 
bounds,  in  which  territory  it  accomplished  its 
symbolic    mission,  so    Israel    restored  has  a 


122  THE  STOKE   KINGDOM. 

place  on  tlie  eartli  assigned  to  it,  tliougli 
vastl}^  larger,  with  metes  and  bounds,  in  wliicli 
it  is  to  begin  its  work  of  restoration :  but  its 
mission,  unlike  ancient  Israel's,  is  to  expand 
and  enlarge,  until  it  embraces  all  nations.  The 
V  "  Stone  "  is  to  grow  larger  and  larger,  until  "  it 
fills  the  whole  earth,"  until  "  the  thrones  shaU 
be  cast  down,"  until  monarchy  and  despotism 
are  crushed  and  "  driven  away  like  chaff 
from  the  summer  threshing-floors,"  and  the 
world  shall  be  blessed  with  truth  and  the 
largest  share  of  civil  and  religious  freedom. 

V.  10.  "  In  that  day,  the  sprout  of  Jesse, 
which  is  to  stand  up,  shall  be  a  signal  to  the 
peoples  :  unto  it  the  nations  shall  tread — [go] 
— and  his  place  of  rest  shall  be  {cwGodtli) 
abundance."  "In  that  day"— in  the  day  of 
the  triumphs  of  the  Grospel,  "  in  the  time  of 
the  end  "  "  jvhen  the  power  of  the  holy  people 
shall  cease  to  be  scattered,"  when  the  "  Stone 
shall  be  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without 
hands,"  when  "  the  ancient  of  days  came, 
and  judgment  was  given  to  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High,  in  that  day  "  the  sprout  of 
Jesse  "  shall  be  set  up. 

"  The  Rod  of  Jesse  "  is  different  from  "  the 


setti:n^g  up  of  isbael.  12B 

Sprout  of  Jesse."  The  words  are  different. 
Separate  and  distinct  words  are  employed  to 
convey  separate  and  distinct  ideas  ;  and  the 
objects  spoken  of  are  different.  "  The  Rod  of 
Jesse  "  refers  to  Christ  in  the  Church  ;  but 
"  the  Sprout  of  Jesse  "  refers  to  Christ  in  Israel 
restored.  This  we  learn  from  the  subsequent 
description.  There  are  two  potent  reasons 
why  Israel  "  set  up  the  second  time  "  should 
be  termed  "the  Sprout  of  Jesse."  1st.  Jesse 
lived  in  the  last  days  of  the  divinely  ap- 
pointed government  of  the  Judges.  In  his 
day  the  government  was  changed  from  Judges 
to  Kings,  against  the  divine  protest.  Jesse 
stands  as  a  representative  of  theocratic  re- 
publicanism. 2nd.  Jesse  also  stands  as  a 
representative  of  political  power.  For  from 
him  came  David  and  Solomon,  the  two  most 
powerful  kings  of  Israel.  Thus  "  the  Sprout 
of  Jesse "  is  a  most  befitting  symbol  of - 
the  divinely  chosen  system  of  government, 
clothed  with  political  power.  This  "  Sprout 
is  to  stand  up  as  a  signal  to  the  peoples,  and 
to  it  the  nations  shall  tread  " — or  go.  This 
famous  signal  to  which  the  nations  are  "  to 
seek,"  "  to  go,"   "  to  come,"   "  to  assemble," 


124  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

is  the  government  of  Israel  set  up  "  the  second 
time,"  or  the  United  States  of  America,  as  has 
been  demonstrated  by  a  number  of  prophecies 
fulfilled. 

"And  his  place  of  rest — or  residence — shall 
be  (cavodtJi)  abundance."  This  describes  the 
land  of  Israel's  restoration — large,  abundant 
in  wealth  and  resources  of  all  sorts,  and  ac- 
cessible to  the  commerce  of  the  world,  for  the 
nations  shall  go  thither. 

"  Shall  be  a  signal  to  the  peoples."  Our 
y  government  is  diiferent  from  all  other  govern- 
ments on  the  earth.  The  religion  of  the  Bible 
is  its  corner-stone,  the  Church  and  State,  like 
twins,  are  separate  and  distinct,  yet  each  is 
bound  to  the  other  by  the  strongest  cords 
and  tenderest  ties.  Their  mutual  strength  is 
increased  by  their  mutual  growth.  Like  good 
neighbors,  they  each  attend  to  their  own 
affairs,  without  either  intermeddling  with  the 
other's  rights.  Here,  no  one  lords  it  over  God's 
heritage.  Here,  our  constitution  requires  us 
to  render  unto  Csesar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are 
God's.  Here,  a  generous  soil  yields  abun- 
dantly to  honest  toil.     Hence,  truthfully,  it  is 


SETTING   UP   OJT   ISKAEL.  125 

called  the  land  of  "  abundance."  Here,  every 
man  is  free.  Here,  the  humblest  citizen  may 
be  promoted  to  the  highest  offices  of  honor 
and  trust.  To  such  a  "  signal "  it  is  no 
wonder  the  nations  come.  "It  is  the  Lord's 
doing,  and  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes." 

y.  11.  "And  it  shall  be  in  that  day,  the  Lord 
shall  add  His  hand  a  second  time,  to  set  up- 
right the  remainder  of  His  people  which  shall 
be  left,  from  Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and 
from  Pathros,  and  from  Cush,  and  from  Elam, 
and  from  Shinar,  and  from  Hamath,  and  from 
the  islands  of  the  sea." 

"And  it  shall  be  in  that  day  " — at  the  time 
appointed,  at  the  end  of  the  woman's  sojourn 
in  the  wilderness,  at  the  end  of  the  1,260  sym- 
bolic years,  "  the  Lord  shall  add  his  hand  a 
second  time  to  set  up  the  remainder  of  His 
people."  The  first  time  the  Lord  "  set  up  " 
"  His  people  "  in  a  national  capacity  was  in 
the  Promised  Land,  after  they  were  brought 
out  of  Egypt.  He  divided  unto  them  the  land 
according  to  the  thirteen  tribes.  He  gave 
to  each  tribe  its  portion.  There  they  lived 
through  long  centuries,  in  prosperity  and  in 
adversity,  until  their  times  had  been  tilled. 


126  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

Then  "  the  sceptre  departed  from  Judah," 
and  then  they  were  hopelessly  scattered  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  as  unwilling  monuments 
of  the  truthfulness  of  God's  Word.  For  more 
than  eighteen  centuries  they  have  been  wan- 
dering as  exiles  and  strangers  in  strange 
lands,  and  must  still  wander  on  "  until  the  full- 
ness of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in."  In  the  mean- 
time, Israel  will  be  restored — not  the  Jews 
— not  the  carnal  seed  of  Abraham :  no,  no ; 
they  do  not  noAV  constitute  Israel ;  but  those 
who  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  are 
born  of  the  Spirit — these  constitute  the  true 
spiritual  Israel.  "If  ye  are  Christ's,  then  are 
ye  Abraham's  seed  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise."  It  is  this  spiritual,  believing  Israel, 
\/v  which  will  be  restored  to  a  second  nation- 
ality, in  all  the  grandeur  programmed  by 
the  prophets,  even  in  this  land,  which  God 
has  promised  and  given  to  them.    It  is  this 

V  Christian  Israel  which  is  to  revolutionize  the 
nations  and  bring  them  back  to  the  control  of 
King  Jesus.     This  is  the  glorious  destiny  of 

^  the  Church,  working  in,  through,  and  with  the 
fifth  nationality,  as  its  great  co-worker,  in 
the  complete  restoration  of  Israel,  when  "  the 


SETTING   UP   OF   ISRAEL.  127 

thrones  shall  be  cast  clown  "  and  Jesus  shall 
be  "Lord  of  all,"  king  of  nations  as  He  is 
now  king  of  saints.  This  is  what  is  meant  by 
Israel  restored,  and  not  the  return  of  the  Jews 
to  Palestine.  It  is  sad  to  see  whole  volumes 
of  learned  ignorance  on  this  subject.  Let  the 
sad  fact  be  remembered  that  the  Jews,  as  a 
people,  are  not  Israel  at  all ;  for  they  cast  off 
Jesus,  their  Messiah,  and  He  cast  them  off. 
As  the  great  Apostle  tells  us,  "because  of  un- 
belief they  were  broken  off."  The  true  Israel 
of  God,  in  all  ages,  are  those  who  love  and 
fear  Him,  and  who  walk  in  His  wa3^s,  whether 
they  be  Jews  or  Grentiles.  The  Israel  under  ^ 
the  Jewish  economy,  has  had  its  day  and  it 
is  past.  The  next  development  is  still  tlie^ 
Israel  of  God,  under  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation, on  a  world-e  nbracing  23lan. 

As  the  "Stone"  was  small  at  first,  with  a 
definite  location,  and  ultimately  filled  the 
whole  earth ;  so  Israel  set  ui3  the  second  time, 
must  be  expected  to  have  a  definite  location, 
with  boundaries  w^ell  marked.  These  bound- 
aries had  been  found,  and  definitely  de- 
scribed, in  the  field-notes  of  Ezekiel,  the  in-  ^ 
spired   surveyor.      Also  Isaiah,  ani  Daniel, 


128  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

and  John,  all  point  with  astonishing  directness 
to  the  United  States,  as  the  chosen  territory 
Avhere  the  Lord  should  ''  add  His  hand  a 
second  time,  to  set  up,  erect,  or  establish  the 
remainder  of  His  people,  which  shall  be  left 
from  Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and  from  Pa- 
thros,  and  from  Cusli,  and  fromElam,  and  from 
Sliinar,  and  from  Hamath,  and  from  the  islands 
of  the  sea." 

These  countries  are  all  put  metonymically 
for  the  countries  into  which  Christians  have 
been  driven,  and  from  which  they  come,  and 
are  to  come,  to  the  land  of  their  restoration. 
Because  the  nations  mentioned  in  this  verse 
have  long  ceased  to  exist,  and  have  passed 
away. 

"And  from  the  islands  of  the  sea."  Addison 
Alexander  says,  this  does  not  mean  "merely 
islands  in  the  strict  sense,  but  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean,  whether  insular  or  conti- 
nental, and  substantially  equivalent  to  Europe, 
and  here  put  last,  as  being  thd  most  import- 
ant." And  is  it  not  an  historical  fact  that  the 
first  settlers  of  our  country,  and  the  founders 
of  our  government,  came  from  England  and 
Scotland,    and   Ireland — literally    "from    the 


SETTING   UP   OF   ISRAEL.  129 

islands  of  tlie  sea  "  ?  And  since  then  multi- 
tudes have  come  from  all  parts  of  Europe, 
and  of  the  world.  The  word  translated 
"  left "  from  Assyria,  etc.,  is  very  expres- 
sive, it  is  {slia-ar),  and  means  "left  over,"  or 
that  which  "  remains ;  "  implying  that  there 
was  no  room  for  them  in  those  countries,  that 
they  Avere  crowded  out  by  ojDposing  forces, 
by  oppression,  or  ^persecution.  This  interpre- 
tation is  fully  confirmed  by  the  next  verse. 

y.  12.  "  And  he  shall  set  ujd  a  signal  for  the 
nations  and  assemble  the  outcasts  of  Israel, 
[or  those  thrust  out  of  Israel]  and  the  dis- 
persed of  Judah  shall  gather  together  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  earth."  The  '^  signal 
set  up  for  the  nations,"  was  the  setting  up  of 
the  Stone  Government,  or  fifth  nationality. 
It  would  be  a  safe  retreat  for  all  the  perse- 
cuted for  Christ's  sake.  It  would  become  so 
famous  a  retreat  for  the  "  worn-out  saints," 
that  it  would  appear  as  "a  signal  for  the 
nations  "  of  the  oppressed,  where  the  outcasts 
of  Israel  and  the  scattered  of  Judah  should 
gather  together.  Israel  and  Judah  are  Hebrew 
names  for  the  people  of  Gfod,  and  mean  the 
thrust-out    or    exiled:     scattered    Christians 


130  THE   STOIS^E   KINGDOM. 

should  be  gathered  in  this  "place  of  rest,  in 
Israel  a  second  time  set  up,"  from  the  four 
corners  of  the  eartlu"  And  has  not  this 
prophecy  been  literally  fulfilled  ?  It  and  its 
fulfillment  stand  to-day  as  a  signal  to  the 
nations  of  the  truthfulness  and  of  the  divine 
inspiration  of  God's  Word,  showing,  as  clear 
as  the  sun  in  the  heavens,  that  His  prophecy 
and  providence  move  along,  side  by  side, 
through  the  ages.  At  the  same  time,  they 
are  two. living  and  uncorruptible  witnesses  for 
God  and  for  His  truth,  before  the  sinful  and 
God-forgetting  generations. 

"  Shall  gather  together  from  the  four  cor- 
ners of  the  earth."  Are  they  not  and  have 
they  not  been,  coming  to  this  country  from 
every  nationality  ?  There  is  no  other  nation 
on  earth  that  has  risen  like  it.  Its  time  and 
place  and  circumstances  all  fill  and  fit  the 
divine  photograph  of  j)i'ophecy,  just  as  the 
shadow  fits  the  substance.  Whether  men  will 
see  it,  or  close  their  eyes  against  it,  the  truth 
will  stand  forever  the  same.  God's  Word  is 
an  infinite  store-house,  filled  with  rich  provi- 
sions for  the  saints.  But  alas,  how  many  will 
not  partake  of  its  bounties !  •  They  are  poor, 


SETTING   UP   OF   ISRAEL.  131 

lean  and  starving.  They  say  "  our  soul  loatli- 
eth  tliis  light  bread."  All  such  had  better 
watch  out  for  "  the  fiery-flying  serj^ents." 
For  the  Lord  hath  spoken.  And  "  he  that 
hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." 

V.  13.  "  And  the  envy  of  Ephraim  shall 
depart,  and  the  adversaries  of  Judah  shall  be 
cutoff:  Ephraim  shall  not  envy  Judah,  and 
Judah  shall  not  vex  [press  upon]  Ephraim  " 
The  entire  abolition  of  the  old  grudge  between 
Ephraim  and  Judah,  is  used  metonymically 
to  show  the  harmony  which  will  exist  between 
all  Christians  in  Israel  restored,  or  "  in  the 
place  of  his  rest."  Addison  Alexander  says  : 
"  That  this  prophecy  was  not  fulfilled  in  the 
return  from  exile,  is  sufficiently  notorious. 
That  it  had  not  been  fulfilled  when  Christ 
came,  is  plain  from  the  continued  enmity 
between  the  Jews,  Samaritans  and  Galileans. 
The  only  fulfillment  it  has  ever  had,  is  in  the 
the  abolition  of  all  national  and  sectional  dis- 
tinctions in  the  Christian  Church,  to  which 
converted  Jews  as  well  as  others  must  sub- 
mit." But  the  prophet  is  here  speaking 
about ''  the  sprout  of  Jesse," — about  when  "  He 
shall  set  up  a  signal  for  the  nations,"  when 


132  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

"  the  Lord  sliall  add  His  hand  a  second  time 
to  set  u})  the  remainder  of  His  people."  He 
is  speal^ing  about  the  times  in  Israel  restored. 
Then  all  national  and  sectional  jealousy  shall 
be  done  away,  when  all  peoples  shall  gather 
round  the  cross.  There  will  be  different 
denominations  at  that  time,  but  they  will 
form  the  different  parts  of  that  grand  anthem 
of  praise,  saying  "  Unto  him  that  loved  us  and 
Avashed  us  from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood  and 
hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God 
and  His  Father,  to  Him  be  glory  and  domin- 
ion forever  and  ever.     Amen." 

V.  14.  "  And  they  shall  fly  upon  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  Philistines  towards  the  west; 
together  they  shall  spoil  the  sons  of  the  east, 
and  they  shall  lay  their  hand  upon  Edom  and 
Moab  and  the  children  of  Ammon  shall  obey 
them."  It  has  been  customary  for  many 
commentators  to  translate  the  verb  liiijpli  in 
this  verse,  "  to  fly  "  as  an  eagle  flies  upon  its 
prey,  making  Ephraim  and  Judali  fly  upon 
the  Philistines  as  their  prey.  But  this  trans- 
lation is  not  supported  by  the  sense  or  by 
Scripture  precedent.  This  word  simply  means 
"to  fly"  without  any  "  prey"  connected  with 


SETTma  TIP   OF   ISRAEL.  133 

it,  as  birds  fly.  See  Job.  v :  7.  Prov.  xxiii : 
5.  Dent,  iv :  17 :  also,  of  locusts  flying.  Nah. 
iii:  17,  etc.,  conveying  the  idea  of  rapid  loco- 
motion. Epliraim  .  and  Judali  stand  metony- 
mically  for  Christian  people  "in  the  latter 
days."  The  Philistines  represent  the  people 
of  "  the  islands  of  the  sea,"  or  western 
Europe.  "  Upon  the  shoulder,"  is  the  place 
where  burdens  are  carried. 

Now  let  us  read  this  verse  with  common 
sense  interpretation.  "  And  at  that  time," 
when  the  Lord  would  "set  His  hand  a  second 
time  "  to  restore  His  people,  the}^  shall  be 
carried  on  ships,  for  this  is  the  only  means  of 
transportation  across  the  ocean,  and  must  be 
the  meaning  of  that  symbolic  expression, 
"borne  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Philistines 
towards  the  west,"  to  America,  to  the  United 
States,  to  the  place  of  His  rest  that  is 
"  abundance."  Truly  the  Philistines  [Western 
Europe]  have  mightily  assisted  in  gathering 
together  His  people  to  this  land  of  the  second 
setting  up  of  Israel.  I  cannot  see  how  any^ 
sense  can  be  made  out  of  this  passage,  with 
any  other  interpretation.  With  this  interpre- 
tation, it  is  all  clear.     It  is  in  accordance  with 


184  THE  STOJ^E  KIKOBOM. 

the  right  meaning  of  words,  and  with  the 
facts  in  the  case.  Did  not  our  persecuted 
forefathers,  who  were  the  outcasts  of  Israel 
and  the  scattered  of  Judah,  did  they  not  come 
in  ships  from  Western  Europe,  or  "  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  Pliilistines  towards  the  west," 
and  first  people  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
United  States  and  set  uj)  this  government, 
which  is  to-day,  and  has  been  for  an  hundred 
years,  "  a  signal  to  the  persecuted  of  the 
nations  -'?  And  are  not  "  the  peoples  "  fleeing 
to  our  shores  from  the  nations  of  Europe,  by 
hundreds  of  thousands  every  year  ?  This 
^  prophecy  must  mean  our  country.  It  can't 
refer  to  old  Palestine,  for  then  they  would 
have  to  fly  to  tlie  east,  instead  of  the  west, 
and  thereby  reverse  the  whole  order  of  the 
prophecy.  How  simple !  How  plain  and 
easy  to  be  understood  is  God's  Word  when 
rightly  interpreted !  We  should  humbly 
search  the  Scriptures  to  find  out  what  the 
Lord  hath  said,  and  not  dictate  to  Him  what 
He  ought  to  have  said. 

^'  Together  they  shall  spoil  the  sons  of  the 
east;  they  shall  lay  their  hand  upon  Edom 
and  Moab,  and  the  children  of  Ammon  shall 
obey  them." 


SETTING    UP   OF   ISRAEL.  135 

The  peoples  mentioned  here  have  passed 
away,  and  are  all  dead  thousands  of  3^ears 
ago.  So  it  is  perfectly  clear  this  pro]3liecy 
does  not  refer  to  those  dead  nations.  But  as 
Edom  and  Moab  and  Ammon  and  the  children 
of  the  East  were  enemies  to  the  progress  and 
prosperity  of  Ephraim  and  Judah ;  and  as 
Ephraim  and  Judah  were  promised  that  they 
should  conquer  and  bring  into  obedience  their 
enemies,  so  by  metonymy  the  Christian  Israel, , 
"  set  up  a  second  time,"  in  the  fifth  national- 
ity, would  "  in  the  latter  days,"  as  "  the 
Stone,"  crush  and  utterly  destroy  all  of 
monarchy  and  autocracy ;  and  as  the  ancient 
of  days  would  ''cast  down  the  thrones,"  in 
like  manner  all  Israel,  united  under  the  fos- 
tering care  of  a  free  republican  government, 
will  overthrow  and  subdue  Edom,  Moab, 
ximmon,  or  all  powers  opposing  the  growth, 
expansion  and  universal  dominion  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty  and  the  world-wide 
extension  of  human  freedom.  These  enemies 
to  the  highest  attainments  of  human  excel- 
lence, under  the  gospel  dispensation  "  in  the 
latter  days,"  are  to  be  utterly  overthrown, 
destroyed  and   scattered  to    the  winds    like 


136  THE   STON^E   KINGDOM. 

cliaff  from  the  summer  tlireshing  floors,  so  that 
no  place  shall  be  found  for  them.  The  nations 
must  submit  to,  and  obey,  the  government  of 
the  king  of  nations.  Such  seems  to  be  the 
programme  marked  out  in  this  prophecy  of 
the  triumphs  of  the  Church  under  the  reign  of 
King  Immanuel. 

Y.  15.  *' And  Jehovah  will  utterly  destroy 
the  tongue  of  the  Egyptian  sea;  and  shake 
his  hand  upon  the  river  in  the  strength  of  his 
v^ind,  and  smite  it  in  the  seven  streams  and 
cause  his  people  to  tread  it  in  shoes  "  [or,  pass 
over  dry  shod.] 

Y.  16.  "  And  there  shall  be  a  highway  for 
the  remainder  of  my  people,  which  shall  be 
left  from  Assyria,  as  there  was  for  Israel,  in 
the  day  of  his  coming  up  from  the  land  of 
Egypt." 

These  two  verses  are  retrospective  and 
prospective:  and  tell  how  these  wonder- 
ful results  are  and  were  brought  about.  The 
"  tongue  of  the  Egyptian  Sea,"  or  Red  Sea, 
was  the  first  great  difficulty  that  the  children 
of  Israel  met  on  their  way  to  the  Promised 
Land.  It  is  prophesied  that  this  difficulty 
shall  be  utterly  destroyed,  and  shall  be  no 


SETTIT^G   UP   OF    ISEAEL.  137 

obstacle  to  the  march  of  the  Lord's  people,  in 
the  great  restoration.  In  the  providence  of 
God,  has  not  the  Red  Sea  been  converted  into 
a  great  highway  for  the  nations  ?  By  the 
opening  of  the  Snez  Canal,  "  the  tongne  of 
the  Egyptian  Sea  "  has  been  utterly  destroyed 
as  a  difficulty  or  obstacle ;  it  opens  a  way 
several  thousand  miles  the  shortest  and  best 
from  Europe  to  India  and  to  all  seaports  of 
Asia.  Thus  the  facilities  for  travel  have  been 
greatly  increased,  thereby  bringing  the  ends 
of  the  earth  nearer  together.  So  that  '^  the 
children  of  the  east,"  as  well  as  ''  the  Philis- 
tines "  of  the  west,  may  see  the  ''  Sprout  of 
Jesse  "  set  up  as  an  "  ensign  for  the  nations," 
and  "  the  outcasts  of  Israel "  may  be  "  gathered 
together  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth," 
"  to  the  place  of  his  rest,"  or  place  of  his 
residence. 

"  And  shake  his  hand  [in  a  threatening 
manner]  upon  the  river,  in  the  strength  of  his 
wind  [as  much  as  to  say,  '  you  will  not  always 
be  a  terror  and  a  hindrance,']  and  will  smite 
it  in  seven  streams  and  cause  his  people  to 
pass  over  dry  shod."  I  am  not  sure  that  we 
should  confine  "  the  tongue  of  the  Egyptian 


138  THE  STONE   KINODOM. 

Sea,''  to  the  Red  Sea,  or  "  the  river  to  be  smit- 
ten in  seven  streams "  to  the  Euphrates. 
These  famous  obstacles  to  migration,  in  an- 
cient times,  I  think  are  here  mentioned  meto- 
nymically  for  all  great  difficulties  and  obsta- 
cles to  migration  that  must  and  will  be  over- 
come by  improved  modes  of  locomotion :  such 
as  steamboats,  steamships,  and  railroads  that 
now  laugh  at  difficulties.  What  once  were 
regarded  as  impossible  barriers  to  travel,  are 
now  passed  over  like  a  bird  on  the  wing. 
Oceans  and  seas,  instead  of  separating 
nations,  are  now  great  highways  by  which 
they  are  brought  nearer  together.  And  as 
for  rivers  being  difficulties,  they  are  now 
crossed  in  cars  on  our  great  highways,  as  if 
they  were  not  there.  Thus  the  prophecy  is 
^  fulfilled,  because  the  deep  water  obstacles  of 
former  times  are  now  "utterly  destroyed," 
and  the  many  thousands  that  migrate  in  these 
times  may  "  pass  over  dry  shod." 

"And  there  shall  be  a  highway  for  the 
remainder  of  my  people  which  shall  be  left 
from  Assyria."  Assyria  of  course  has  passed 
away  thousands  of  years  ago ;  but  the  name 
is  used  here  to  represent  those  countries  from 


SETTING  UP  OF  ISRAEL.  139 

wliicli  tlie  Lord's  people  shall  be  gathered. 
As  His  miraculous  providence  opened  a  way 
through  the  Ked  Sea  for  His  ancient  people, 
so  His  wonderful  providence  has  opened  a 
highway  of  travel  for  His  people  to  gather 
themselves  together  into  "the  place  of  His 
rest,"  or  place  of  His  residence.  As  ancient 
Israel  offered  thanksgiving  and  praise  on  the 
other  side  of  the  sea,  for  their  escape  and 
deliverance  from  Egypt,  so  our  fathers  in  this 
land  of  Israel's  restoration,  have  often  offered 
thanks,  and  sung  hymns  of  praise,  for  their 
deliverance  from  tyranny,  oppression  and 
persecution.  After  ages  of  Avrongs  and  exile 
and  martyrdom,  they  were  permitted  to  enter 
their  own  land  of  liberty  and  "  abundance, 
with  hearts  overflowing  with  gratitude.  They 
shouted  His  praise  for  their  wonderful  deliv- 
erance. Their  song  was  written  in  prophecy 
2,500  years  ago.  And  when  the  appointed 
time  came — when  Israel  was  delivered  and 
restored — there  was  a  people  prepared  and 
ready  to  sing  the  song  of  deliverance.  And 
they  shouted  it  with  their  lips  from  overflow- 
ing hearts,  saying,  "  0  Lord,  I  will  praise 
Thee;   though  Thou   wast    angry    with  me, 


140  THE   STONE    KIT^GDOM. 

Thine  anger  is  turned  away  and  tliou  com- 
fortedst  me.  Behold,  God  is  my  salvation  ;  I 
will  trust  and, not  be  afraid;  for  the  Lord 
Jehovah  is  my  strength  and  my  song;  he  also 
is  become  my  salvation.  Sing  unto  the  Lord, 
for  He  hath  done  excellent  things ;  this  is 
known  in  all  the  earth.  Cry  out  and  shout, 
thou  inhabitant  of  Zion  ;  for  great  is  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel  in  the  midst  of  thee." 

The  coincidences  in  this  prophecy  with  the 
United  States  are  many  and  remarkable. 

1st.  "  The  Sprout  of  Jesse,"  which  is  the 
"  signal  to  the  peoples  "  that  was  to  be  "  set 
up,"  corresponds  to  the  setting  up  of  this  gov- 
ernment on  a  Christian  basis. 

2nd.  "Unto  it  the  nations  shall  tread." 
And  have  "the  peoples"  not  come  hither 
to  these  States  "  from  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth  "  ? 

3rd.  "  The  place  of  his  rest  shall  be  abun- 
dancey  And  is  not  this  a  land  of  abun- 
dance— abundance  of  everything  ?  There  is 
no  country  like  it.  No  other  word  could  have 
described  it  so  -well. 

4tli.  "The  second  setting  up  of  Israel" 
literally  coincides  with  the  "  setting  up  "  of 


SETTING   UP   OF   ISRAEL.  141 

this  government,  chronologically,  geographi- 
cally and  prophetically. 

5th.  "  The  outcasts  of  Israel,  or  perse- 
cuted Christians,  were  to  come  to  their  "  place 
of  rest."  And  did  not  the  persecuted  Hugue- 
nots, Quakers,  Covenanters,  Pilgrims,  and 
multitudes  of  oppressed  Christians  lind  "  a 
place  of  rest,"  or  residence  in  this  land? 

6tli.  They,  "  the  peoples,"  should  come  to 
this  land  ''  from  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth."  And  has  not  this  prophecy  been 
fulfilled  to  the  letter  ? 

7th.  "And  they  shall  liy  upon  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  Philistines  towards  the  west." 
And  did  not  Europe,  and  particularly  West- 
ern Europe,  or  "  the  islands  of  the  sea,"  send 
the  great  multitude  of  the  early  settlers  to 
this  country  ?  And  the  cry  is,  "  still  they 
come,"  daily  by  thousands. 

8th.  "And  Jehovah  shall  utterly  destroy 
the  tongue  of  the  Egyptian  sea."  And  has 
not  the  utter  destruction  of  the  difficulties 
and  hindrances  to  migration  taken  place  at 
the  time  appointed,  and  in  the  right  manner  ? 
We  behold  the  fulfillment  of  this  prophecy  in 
the  increased  powers  of  locomotion  andfacili- 


142  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

ties  for  transportation.  All  this  lias  been 
done  since  the  setting  np  of  the  Stone  king- 
dom, and  has  greatly  conduced  to  its  develop- 
ment and  prosj)erity. 

9th.  "And  there  shall  be  a  highway  for 
the  remainder  of  my  people  "  to  *come  to 
"  the  land  of  their  rest,"  or  residence.  This 
prophecy  is  partly  fulhlled,  in  the  modern 
improvements  in  travel,  both  on  land  and 
sea,  and  also  in  the  civil  and  religious  liberty 
of  our  people.     All  may  come,  who  please. 

10th.  The  song  of  thanksgiving  and  praise 
for  deliverance,  which  closes  this  prophecy, 
has  met  a  wonderful  coincidence  in  the  grati- 
tude and  songs  of  praise,  sung  by  our  fore- 
fathers for  their  great  victory  and  deliver- 
ance from  tyranny  and  oppression,  and  for 
their  own  land  !  of  liberty  and  abundance. 

These  are  some  of  the  remarkable  points 
of  coincidence  of  these  prophecies  in  our 
country.  The  shadow  fits  the  substance. 
Other  points  in  this  prophecy,  "  in  their 
^me,"  will  be  even  more  astonishing  in  their 
coincidence  than  those  that  are  now  history. 
The  providences  of  God  are  on  their  grand, 
ceaseless,  onward  march,  to  accomplish,  and 


SETTING   UP   OF   ISRAEL. 


14^ 


g,  the  fullillment 


now  are  daily  acconiplisliin 
of  ancient  proj)liecies  —  tlie  ancient  pro- 
gramme of  the  nations  and  of  the  Clmrch — 
witli  astonishing  exactness.  Let  all  the  world 
behold  with  wonder,  and  know  that  "the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  ANCIENT  OF  DAYS. 

A  Symbol  of  Israel  Restored. — Daniel  vii.  g-sy. 


u 


BEHELD  till  the  thrones  were  cast 
^  down,  and  the  ancient  of  days  did 
sit,  whose  garment  was  white  as  snow,  and 
the  hair  of  his  head  like  the  pnre  wool :  his 
throne  was  like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his  Avheels 
as  burning  fire.  A  fiery  stream  issued  and 
came  forth  from  before  him ;  thousand  thou- 
sands ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him : 
the  judgment  was  set,  and  the  books  were 
opened." 

We  noAV  approach  a  subject  of  more  than 
ordinary  difficulty,  because  its  true  meaning 
is  enveloped  in  such  gorgeous  drapery.  Who 
is  the  ancient  of  days  ?  This  is  the  first 
question  to  be  answered.  Many  commen- 
tators and  poets  have  attributed  this  name  to 

144 


THE    AITCIENT    OF    DAYS.  145 

the  first  person  of  the  adorable  Trinity — to 
God,  the  Father.  But  this  opinion  cannot  be 
correct,  for  ^ve  reasons — 

1st.  Because  God  the  Father  is  nowhere 
represented  in  the  Scriptures  as  incarnate,  or 
having  bodily  shape. 

2nd.  Because  "  the  Father  judgeth  no  man ; 
but  hath  committed  all  judgment  unto  the 
Son."     (John  v :  22.) 

3rd.  Because  God  the  Father  is  the  ancient 
of  eternity,  and  not  the  ancient  of  days.  He 
is  without  beginning  of  days  or  end  of  years. 

4th.  Because  Daniel's  interpretation  is  very 
explicit.  He  says  :  "  these  great  beasts,  which 
are  four,  are  four  kings  [or  kingdoms]  which 
shall  arise  out  of  the  earth.  But  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High  shall  take  the  kingdom,  and 
possess  the  kingdom,  forever,  even  forever 
and  ever.'"  So  the  flaming  chariot  throne  of 
the  ancient  of  days  represents  the  conquering 
government  of  the  saints — the  fifth  great  na- 
tionality of  earth,  clothed  with  political  power. 

5th.  Because  "the  judgment  shall  sit,  and 
THEY  shall  take  away  his  dominion."  TJiey, 
the  government  of  the  saints,  "  shall  take 
away "    the    dominion   of  ''  the   little   horn " 


146  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

wliicli  "  spake  great  words  against  the.  Most 
High,"  and  "  wore  out  tiie  saints  of  the  Most 
High."  "  J'/^e?/" — the  saints,  the  friends  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  "  shall  take  away 
his  dominion,  to  consume  and  to  destroy  it 
unto  the  end." 

As  "  the  Stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain 
without  hands,"  that  crushed  the  image  of 
monarchy,  represents  a  new  kingdom,  the 
fifth  great  government  of  earth,  which  Avas  to 
arise  after  the  other  four  kingdoms,  and  to 
conquer  all  nations,  and  to  continue  until  the 
yCnd  of  time ;  so  the  kingdom  of  ''  the  ancient 
of  da^^s,"  another  symbol  of  the  fifth  govern- 
ment, was  to  arise  and  rule  after  the  four 
kingdoms  had  passed  away,  Avhich  Daniel 
saw  in  his  vision  of  the  "four  beasts."  As 
the  Stone  government  arose  entirely  outside 
of  the  limits  of  the  Roman  Empire,  so  the 
y  kingdom  of  the  "  ancient  of  days  "  was  to 
rise  outside  of  those  limits  also  :  for  it  is  the 
same  fifth  government,  in  a  different  vision, 
with  some  additional  revelations.  Both  of 
these  symbols  are  synchronal,  and  point  for- 
ward to  the  universal  dominion  of  Christi- 
anit}^  under  a  pure  civil  government. 


THE   Al^CIENT   OF   DAYS.  147 

The  judgment  scene,  at  wliicli  the  "  ancient 
of  days  "  presides,  is  described  in  glowing 
colors,  because  of  the  grandeur  of  the  occa- 
sion. The  majesty  of  the  Most  High  had 
been  insulted,  and  must  be  avenged,  as  well 
as  the  wrongs  and  injuries  of  the  saints, 
whom  '• '  the  little  horn '  thought  to  wear 
out."  His  garment  was  white  as  snow,  and 
his  hair  "like  the  pure  wool,"  emblematic  of 
purity.  His  ermine  of  judicial  authority  was' 
of  sj)otless  whiteness.  His  chariot- throne  of  ^ 
flaming  fire,  signified  that  nothing  but  truth 
and  eternal  right  could  stand  before  it.  All 
the  chaff  and  tinsel,  as  well  as  the  cruel 
wrongs  of  monarchy,  and  monarchy  itself  as 
essentially  evil,  will  be  consumed  and  de- 
stroyed together  unto  the  end. 

"A  fiery  stream  issued,  and  came  forth  from 
before  him."  A  stream  of  influence,  a  stream 
of  prosperity  and  happiness  among  the  masses, 
a  stream  of  human  liberty,  also  a  stream  of 
periodicals,  books,  and  literature  of  various 
kinds  that  kindle  in  the  soul  a  fiery  love  of 
freedom  ;  also  streams  of  light  and  truth — all, 
all  issuing  from  the  government  of  "  the  an- 
cient of  days,"  and  constantly  diffused  among 


148  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

the  millions  of  monarchy,  is  like  lire  to 
kindle  revolution,  to  overthrow,  and  burn 
up  the  foundations  of  absolutism.  This 
''fiery  stream"  wakes  up  the  slumbering 
millions,  produces  a  state  of  unrest,  and  a 
desire  for  independence  and  human  progress. 
For  an  hundred  years  this  "fiery  stream" 
has  been  flowing  with  an  increasing  swell, 
and  behold  what  eff'ects !  What  wonderful 
results  have  already  been  produced !  And 
still  this  "  fiery  stream  "  is  constantly  swell- 
ing with  our  increasing  prosj^erity,  now  flow- 
ing like  a  flood,  soon  to  accomplish  its  divine 
mission  of  revolution,  overthrow,  and  destruc- 
tion of  civil  and  religious  bondage  and  des- 
potism. The  hand  of  Providence  is  directing 
all  these  things  to  the  accomplishment  of  His 
eternal  plans. 

There  is  a  deep  significance  in  the  expres- 
sion "  The  ancient  of  days  did  sit."  Away 
back  in  the  ages,  there  was  a  little  Republi- 
can-Democratic theocracy,  in  the  days  of  the 
Judges  of  ancient  Israel,  when  the  people 
chose  their  own  rulers  under  the  divine  direc- 
tion :  it  was  so  small,  and  comparatively 
short-lived,    and  so    far    in   advance   of    the 


THE   A^^CIETTT   OF   DAYS.  149 

times,  that  it  jDrodnced  no  commotion  among 
the  surrounding  despotisms.  It  felt  lonely 
and  despised.  But  it  was  a  great  fact.  It 
was  pure  seed,  planted  deep  in  the  pages  of 
eternal  trutli.  The  people  were  happy  and 
prosperous  under  their  government,  and  the 
Lord  was  their  King.  That  government  served 
its  purpose  as  a  splendid  type,  and  passed 
away.  Its  history  was  written,  and  is  now 
read  by  millions.  It  lived  just  long  enough 
to  show  to  the  nations  what  had  been,  what 
should  be,  what  could  be,  and  what  Avould  be 
accomplished  in  God's  own  time,  under  the 
transforming  world-wide  Christian  dispen- 
sation. And  so  it  came  to  pass,  when  "  the 
time  of  the  end  ''  had  come,  when  "the power 
of  the  holy  people  had  ceased  to  be  scat- 
tered" — when  the  1,260  symbolic  days  were 
ended,  after  "  the  taking  away  of  the  daily 
sacrifice,"  when  "  the  time,  times  and  an 
half"  of  the  woman's  sojourn  in  the  wilder- 
ness were  ended  ;  then  the  Stone  Kingdom  v 
was  set  up  ;  then  the  ancient  of  days  came, 
exactly  at  the  time  appointed,  and  Avas  re- 
established on  a  scale,  the  grandeur  of  which 
is  adequate  to  the  necessities  of  its  wonderful 


150  THE    STONE   KINGDOM. 


then  justice  was  rendered  to  tlie 
saints  of  the  Most  High ;  "  and  the  time 
came  that  the  saints  possessed  the  kingdom," 
or  dominion.  America,  so  long  hid,  was  dis- 
covered, the  United  States  government  was 
established,  and  "  a  nation  was  born  in  a 
day."  'Now  we  are  living  in  the  land  of  Israel 
restored,  under  the  re-establishment  of  the 
government  of  "  the  ancient  of  days,"  in  the 

/fifth  nationality,  the  last  and  noblest  form 
of  government  the  world  will  have ;  where 
men  and  mind  are  free  from  the  tyranny  of 
superstition,  and  free  from  political  slavery  ; 
for  "  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  take  the 
kingdom,  and  possess  the  kingdom  forever, 
even  forever  and  ever."  Bl essed  truth,  cheering 
hope,  as  the  promised  da}^  dawns  into  a  glori- 
^ous  realit}".  As  the  ever- widening  circles  of  the 
government  of  "  the  ancient  of  days  "  extend 
from  point  to  point,  in  its  ceaseless  march  of 
conquest,  diffusing  light  and  truth,  liberty  of 
soul  and  true  manliness,  it  leaves  forever  the 

^  history  of  the  past  to  tell  its  sad  story  of  op- 
pression and  wrongs — the  dark  and  bloody 
history  of  almost  6,000  j^ears,  filled  with  the 
wrecks  of  human  greatness,  with  tears  and 


THE   ANCIENT   OF   DAYS.  151 

blighted  hopes,  while  the  groans  and  sighs  of 
uncounted  millions  made  the  sad  and  doleful 
monotone  of  the  passing  generations.  All 
this,  and  infinitely  more,  makes  up^the  dark 
background,  upon  which  the  increasingly 
glorious  government  of  "  the  ancient  of  days  " 
is^to  shine  with  greater  and  greater  light,  even 
with  an  heavenly  splendor.  This  sounds  like  ^ 
swollen  language,  but  it  falls  far  below  the 
predicted  reality. 

Another  remarkable  statement  is  here  made : 
when  ''  the  ancient  of  days  did  sit,"  when  he 
first  came  to  his  seat,  "  thousand,  thousands," 
ministered  unto  him  ;  that  is,  three  "  thou- 
sands," as  there  were  three  ''  times."  Now  if 
we  multiply  1,000X1,000  we  have  1,000,000; 
then,  "  thousands "  is  equal  to  two  more 
"  thousand,"  multiplied  in  like  manner ;  then, 
by  adding  the  results,  we  have  just  3,000,000, 
the  number  "  that  ministered  unto  him."  This 
was  the  number  that  went  with  Moses  from  / 
Egypt  to  Palestine,  as  near  as  can  be  counted, 
when  ancient  Israel  was  first  set  up  as  a 
nation,  or  with  an  independent  government  of 
their  own.  In  like  manner,  after  more  than 
3,600  years,   it  was  also  the  number  of  the  \J 


153  THE    STOT^E   KINGDOM. 

inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  when  onr 
government  was  first  set  nj),  and  declared 
indei3endent,  in  1776,  when  Israel's  restoration 
was  begim.  As  Joshua  led  his  three  millions 
into  the  land  of  promise,  and  gave  them  lib- 
erty, and  a  country  for  their  home  and  for 
their  development,  in  like  manner,  Washing- 
vton  led  his  three  millions  from  political 
slavery  into  a  land  of  liberty — which  was 
also  a  land  of  prophecy  and  of  providence — 
for  their  own  country,  and  for  their  children's 
children,  to  the  latest  generation  ;  for  "  the 
saints,"  i.  <?.,  the  friends  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  "  shall  possess  the  kingdom  forever, 
even  forever  and  ever,"  or  through  the  ages. 
Daniel  said,  "  I  saw  in  my  vision  by  night, 
and  behold  the  four  winds  of  the  heaven 
strove  upon  the  great  sea "  of  the  nations 
and  23eoples.  "And  four  great  beasts  came 
up  from  the  sea,  diverse  one  from  another. 
The  first  was  like  a  lion  ;"  this  represented 
the  Babylonian  Empire,  which  culminated  in 
the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  second 
was  "like  to  a  bear";  this  symbolized  the 
Medo-Persian  Empire,  which  culminated  in 
the  reign  of  Cyrus.     The   third  was   like   a 


THE    AXOIENT    OF   DAYS.  153 

leopard  ":  this  was  a  symbol  of  the  Macedonian 
Empire,  which  cnlminated  in  the  reign  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great.  The  "  fourth  beast  was 
dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly  ; 
and  it  had  great  iron  teeth  ...  it  was  di- 
A^erse  from  all  the  beasts  that  were  before  it ; 
and  it  had  ten  horns."  "And  another  little  horn 
came  up,  before  whom  there  were  three  of  the 
first  horns  plucked  up  by  the  roots  ;  and  be- 
hold, in  this  horn  were  eyes  like  the  eyes  of 
man,  and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things." 
.  .  .  "And  he  shall  speak  great  words 
against  the  Most  High,  and  shall  wear  out  the 
saints  of  the  Most  Hio'h,  and  think  to  change 
times  and  laws  :  and  they  [the  saints]  shall 
be  given  into  his  hand,  until  a  time,  times, 
and  the  dividing  of  a  time."  The  "fourth 
beast,"  all  commentators  agree,  was  the  Ro- 
man Emj)ire,  which  culminated  in  the  reign 
of  the  Caesars.  The  "  ten  horns  "  represented 
the  ten  kingdoms  that  rose  up  after  the  Roman 
monarchy  and  occupied  the  same  territory. 
And  the  "  little  horn  "  that  rose  U23,  "  before 
whom  three  "  of  the  first  horns  "fell,"  repre- . 
sents  the  illegitimate  union  of  Church  and 
State,  that  developed  into  the  Papacy.     This 


154  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

politico-ecclestastical  concubinage  brought 
forth  a  terrible  progeny.  They  spake  blas- 
phemous words  against  the  Most  High.  They 
persecuted,  imprisoned,  and  martyred  the 
saints  by  millions.  Their  hellish  purpose  was 
to  "  wear  them  out."  For  more  than  a  thou- 
sand years,  the  history  of  this  "  little  horn  " 
is  stained  with  innocent  blood,  and  filled  with 
loathsome  dungeons,  and  all  sorts  of  devilish 
torture.  Its  choice  music  was  the  groans  of 
dying  Christians,  their  waitings  on  the  rack, 
and  their  lamentations  in  prison ;  and  the 
tears  and  sobs  of  heart-broken  saints,  wander- 
ing as  exiles  and  homeless  in  strange  lands, 
afforded  fiendish  delight.  But  let  God  be 
praised  forever,  because  He  is  true  to  His 
promises.     At  the  end  of  the  1,260  symbolic 

yyears,  exactly  at  the  time  appointed,  "  the 
ancient  of  days  came,"  and  justice  was  ren- 
dered to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  ;  govern- 

V mental  authority  and  a  great  country  were 
given  to  His  people,  where  the  horns  of  mon- 
archy can  never  hurt  them  any  more,  and 
where  the  "little  horn,"  all  gory  with  the 
blood    of    saints,     can     never     touch     them 


THE   AjSTCIET^TT   OF   DAYS.  100 

The  Constitution  and  laws  of  tlie  United  / 
States  are  founded  on  the  Bible,  and  on  the 
principles  of 'equity  and  "  everlasting  right- 
eousness," reminding  us  again  that  our 
government  is  "the  ancient  of  days,"  or  the 
"  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  "  of  Christi- 
anity. Here  all  Christians  can  feel  at  home, 
for  it  is  their  home,  and  their  land,  reserved 
in  God's  providence  for  this  purpose,  and  for 
these  times.  So  that  from  henceforth,  under  ^ 
the  aegis  of  this  government,  the  Church  may 
unfurl  her  banners  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world,  in  accordance  with  the  divine  pro- 
gramme, and  no  horns  of  monarchy,  or  of  the 
devil,  can  gore  them  any  more,  and  no  one 
dare  disturb  them  any  more,  or  make  them 
afraid  in  their  worshi23  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

In  order  to  remove  all  doubt  about  the 
truthfulness  of  our  interpretation  of  "  the  anv 
cient  of  days,"  we  have  shown  that  it  is  only 
another  symbol  for  "  the  Stone  kingdom," — 
that  it  is  "  Israel  restored,"  that  it  is  the  fifth 
nationality — that  it  is,  and  is  being  realized,'' 
in  the  United  States  of  America.  Now  to 
demonstrate  the  truthfulness  and  correctness 
of  the  interpretation,  the  very  time  is  speci- 


156  THE    STOKE   KINGDOM. 

fied  wlien  "  the  ancient  of  da^^s "  should 
come.  It  is  written  in  the  25th  verse  of  this 
chapter.  "And  they,"  the  saints,  or  friends 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  "  shall  be  given 
into  his  hand  " — the  hand  of  "  the  little  horn," 
"  until  a  time,  and  times,  and  the  dividing  of 
a  time,"  that  is,  for  three  and  an  half  times, 
or  1,260  symbolic  years.  Now  at  what  time 
was  the  Church  (or  the  saints)  given  into  the 
hands  of  the  little  horn  ;  or  when  were  Church 
and  State  first  united  ?  From  history  we  learn 
that  Constantino  the  Great  was  made  head  of 
the  Church,  or  the  Church  was  placed  under 
political  control,  at  the  Council  of  Mce,  in 
Bithynia,  about  June  17th,  A.  D.  325.  ]N"ow 
let  us  count  from  that  Council — from  the  day 
when  political  power  was  given  to  the  Church, 
3^  "  times,"  or  1,260  sjnnbolic  years — of  cut- 
off, or  sliortened  time :  remember  that  this  is 
the  "  key  "  to  the  "  times  "  of  the  prophets. 
Since  360  always  represents  a  prophetic  year, 
it  may  represent  a  year  of  364  parts.  Then 
364  multiplied  by  364  is  equal  to  132,496 :  to 
which  add  ^,  or  sabbatic  time,  and  we  have 
151,424.  And  since  360  is  contained  in  1,260, 
just  3^  times;  then  3  J  times   one  "  ^m^,"  or 


THE    ANCIETTT    OF   DAYS.  157 

151,424,  is  equal  to  529,984  days,  in  solar  time  ; 
or  1,451  years  and  17  days — the  time  that  the 
saints  Avere  given  into  the  power  of  "  the  little 
horn."  Now  add  this  1,451  years  and  17  days, 
to  June  17th,  A.  D.  325,  and  it  gives  us  exactly 
1,776,  July  the  4th,  the  year  and  the  day,  that 
the  United  States  were  declared  independent, 
and  the  time  exactly  when  ''  a  nation  was 
born  in  a  day,"  when  "  the  ancient  of  days 
came,"  and  established  his  dominion.  This 
calculation  is  astonishing,  audits  truthfulness 
is  startling.  The  glory  of  ancient  Israel,  under  ■ 
a  Republican  theocracy,  has  been  restored 
and  re-established,  on  a  vastly  grander  scale 
than  in  the  days  of  the  Judges.  "  The  an- 
cient of  days "  has  come,  and  is  in  the 
strength  and  beauty  of  his  youthful  man- 
hood; his  dominion  has  been  set  up  in  the 
United  States.  But  his  work  has  only  begun, ^ 
in  comparison  with  the  grandeur  of  his  mis- 
sion. We  stand  at  the  beginning  ;  the  end  is 
far  in  the  future.  In  this  little  book  we  only 
speak  of  facts — of  things  that  have  been,  or 
that  now  are.  We  deal  not  with  vague  theo- 
ries and  unproved  hypotheses,  but  with  eter- 
nal truth  and  solid,  substantial  facts. 


158  THE   STONE   KI]NrGDOM. 

Of  the  nnfiilfilled  prophecies,  in  the  inspired 
programme  of  "  tlie  ancient  of  days  "  of  his 
universal  conquests,  and  establisliment  of 
rigliteousness  among  the  nations,  we  will  not 
speak.  That  must  be  left  to  the  future  his- 
torian and  commentator.  How  these  glorious 
triumphs  will  be  brought  about,  God  knows, 
and  that  is  enough.  He  will  see  that  the 
whole  j)rogramme  will  be  j)erfectly"  fulfilled. 
Let  God  be  praised,  we  have  seen  the  begin- 
ning. It  is  sufficient  for  us  to  know,  as  we 
stand  at  the  threshold  of  promised  glory  to 
the  Church  and  to  the  nations,  "  that  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  take  the  king- 
dom, and  possess  dominion  forever,  even  for- 
ever and  ever."  It  is  legitimate  for  us  to 
close  this  chapter  by  quoting  the  divine  pro- 
gramme, in  which  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  what 
are  to  be  the  grand  results  which  are  yet  far  in 
the  future,  verses  26  and  27.  "  The  judges 
were  seated  to  take  away  his  dominion,"  i.  e., 
of  "  the  little  horn  " — or  ecclesiastical  and 
State  domination — "  to  consume  and  to  de- 
stroy it  unto  the  end.  And  kingdom  and  do- 
minion, and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom, 
under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the 


THE   ANCIENT   OF   DAYS.  159 

people  of  tlie  saints  of  tlie  Most  High,  whose 
kingdom  is  an'  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all 
dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  Him."  This 
is  the  Lord's  doing  ;  what  He  has  done  ;  and 
what  is  yet  to  be  done. 

Truly  "  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes."  Mon- 
archs  and  kings  have  always  worn  their  crowns 
under  divine  protest,  and  ever  will,  "  until  the 
thrones  shall  be  cast  down."  Until  this  set 
time  in  the  march  of  Providence,  those  na- 
tions so  ruled,  will  continue  to  be  enslaved, 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  because  they  know 
not  the  truth  as  to  the  rights  of  government 
and  of  the  governed.  The  truth  alone  wilL 
make  them  free.  Then  the  masses  of  the 
people  will  arise  in  their  majesty,  and  their 
iDill  expressed  will  be  sovereign  law.  Then 
royal  error,  hoary  with  age,  will  topple  to  the 
ground.  And  the  people  will  be  free.  Then 
the  old  tyrannical  dogma — the  divine  right  of 
kings — shall  find  a  grave  from  which  there 
will  be  no  resurrection.  Republicanism,  or  / 
the  ancient  of  days,  as  great  High  Priest, 
will  perform  the  obsequies,  without  a  tear : 
while  the  j)eoples  and  nations  will  chant  the 
chorus — "  The  truth  hath  made  us  free." 


CHAPTER  X. 
"  THE  WAITING  ISLES," 

Or  our  County  Described  by  the  Prophet. — Isaiah  Ix. 

Land    and    the    Church   in    ancient 


^  Israel  are  always  connected.  The  Holy 
Land  was  God's  gift  to  His  holy  people,  for 
their  possession,  in  order  to  their  develop- 
ment. This  they  held  by  a  divine  title,  until 
their  mission  was  completed — nntil  their/'  first 
principles"  and  typical  condition  were  fin- 
ished. Then  they  were  scattered  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  at  the  time  when  "  the  daily 
sacrifice  Avas  taken  away."  They  had  acted 
and  finished  their  part  in  the  great  drama  of 
theological  instruction.  But  when  Israel  is 
restored,  it  must  be,  according  to  the  prophets, 
on  a  grander  scale  than  ever  before.  Ancient 
Israel  was  but  one  family,  settled  in  a  very 
small  and  limited  territory :  but  Israel 
restored  is    to  be  gathered  from   all  nations 

160 


161 

and  languages,  and  is  to  be  set  up  in  a  vastly 
larger  territory.     Israel   restored  is  to   have/ 
tlie  headship    of  the   world,  in   the  work  of 
reformation,  in  civil  and  religious  liberty,  in 
overtlirowing  all  despotism,  in  purifying  the 
currents  of  social  life,  by  a  general  diffusion 
of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  whicli  will  then 
be  felt  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth  and  the  light 
of  the  world.     Ancient   Israel  furnished  the  / 
world  with  the  Bible,  and  with  tlie  only  plan 
of  salvation.     Israel  restored  is  its  expounder    . 
and  exemplification,  to  show  to  the  nations 
and  peoples  its  heavenly  teachings  by  which 
man  may  be  freed  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  from 
the  bondage  of  superstition,  and  from  all  sorts 
of  slavery.     It  is  to  show  to  the  world  man'sy 
highest   status  attainable  under  the  Gospel, 
both  as  to  Church  and  State,  and  that  form  of 
government  best  suited  for  human  develop- 
ment   and    religious    prosperity.      Truly,    a 
glorious  mission  ! 

It  is  this  land  of  prophecy  and  providence, 
this  land  of  the  restoration,  Avliich  Isaiah  saw 
and  describes  so  glowingly  in  this  chapter. 
As  he  looked  across  the  ages  and  saw  that 
country  which  the  Lord  had  kej^t  hid  for  His 


162  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

people  until  the  appointed  time,  with  .the 
glory  of  the  Lord  shining  upon  it,  he  bursts 
out  with  a  grand  shout  of  admiration  and 
wonder  at  what  he  saw,  saying  : 

Y.  1.  "  Arise  !  be  light,  for  thy  light  is 
come  and  the  glory  of  Jehovah  has  risen  upon 
thee." 

V.  2.  "  For  behold,  the  darlvness  shall 
cover  the  earth  and  a  gloom  the  nations,  but 
upon  thee  shall  Jehovah  rise  as  the  sun  and 
his  glory  upon  thee  shall  be  seen."  The 
"but"  in  this  verse  is  the  j)roper  translation, 
for  the  Hebrew  vav  is  put  before  adversative 
clauses,  and  means  "and  yet" — "but" — 
"  since."  The  antithesis  lies  in  the  thought, 
rather  than  in  the  vav,  as  in  Gen.  ii :  16,  17, 
"of  every  tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest 
freely  eat,  but  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  thou  slialt  not  eat  of  it."  Also 
Gen.  xvii:  21,  xlii:  10. 

"  The  darkness  shall  cover  the  earth," 
means  the  darkness  of  sin,  the  darkness  of  the 
fall  that  put  everything  out  of  joint,  both  civil 
and  religious. 

"  And  a  gloom  the  nations."  They  had 
some  idea  of  reli2:ion  and  some  notions  about 


"the  avaiting  isles."  163 

human  government ;  but  nothing  was  clear. 
It  was  all  foggy,  cloudy  and  indistinct — more 
dark  than  light,  more  wrong  than  right.  This 
was  the  gloomy  pall  that  covered  the  nations. 

"But  upon  thee,"  upon  Israel  restored, 
"  shall  Jehovah  rise  and  his  glory  upon  thee 
shall  be  seen."  The  Sun  of  Righteousness  will 
dispel  the  darkness  which  had  settled  down 
upon  the  Church  and  dimmed  its  light.  He 
will  give  new  life  and  new  light :  new  life  to 
the  Church  in  her  great  mission  of  salvation 
and  redemption  ;  and  new  light  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  nations.  Indeed,  upon  Israel 
restored,  Jehovah  shall  rise  as  the  sun,  and 
scatter  rays  of  light,  "and  his  glory  shall  be 
seen  upon  thee."  Then  the  Church  shall 
"look  forth  as  the  morning,  fair  as  the  moon, 
clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with 
banners." 

Y.  3.  "And  nations  shall  walk  in  thy  lights 
and  kings  in  the  brightness  of  thy  rising." 
This  translation  is  apj)roved  by  the  highest 
critical  authorities,  and  expresses  exactly  the 
mission  of  the  fifth  nationality.  Its  clearer 
and  purer  light  will  have  a  transforming 
influence  upon  the  nations,  so  that  they  shall 


164  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

walk  in  its  light.  Their  entire  organization, 
social,  religious  and  civil,  will  be  so  changed 
as  to  conform  to  Israel  restored.  It  will  be  fol- 
lowed as  the  highest  and  best  form  of  human 
government.  This  seems  to  be  the  meaning 
of  the  prophet,  for  he  says,  "Nations  shall 
walk  in  thy  light,"  or  follow  thy  example. 

Y.  4.  "Lift  up  thine  eyes  roundabout  [i.  e., 
in  all  directions]  and  see  ;  all  of  them  are 
gathered  together ;  they  come  to  thee ;  thy 
sons  from  far  off  shall  come  and  thy  daughters 
at  thy  side  shall  be  supported."  The  prophet 
looks  round  about  in  every  direction  among 
the  nations  of  earth,  and  he  beholds  the  peo- 
ple gathered  together  as  if  in  consultation 
concerning  that  wonderful  country  where  a 
great  light  is  shining  and  where  the  glory  of 
God  is  seen,  in  the  extent  of  the  land,  in  the 
freedom  and  prosperity  of  the  people,  and  in 
the  liberty  and  triumphs  of  the  Church. 
Their  minds  are  made  up.  They  are  deter- 
mined to  go.  "  They  come  to  thee  ;  thy  sons 
from  far  off  shall  come."  And  then  the  prophet 
adds  another  thing  of  astonishing  interest 
that  he  had  not  seen  amons:  the  nations — 
"Thy  daughters   shall   be    supported  at  the 


''the  WAiTi:vrG  isles.''  165 

side."      "  Daughters,"  is  in   apposition   with 


and  the  "  daughters  "  are  the  women.  That 
old  interpretation  which  represents  the  daugh- 
ters or  the  women  as  infants,  carried  on  the 
sides  or  in  the  arms  of  men  is  false,  and  not 
consistent  witli  the  prophecy,  or  with  the 
glory  of  that  country  described.  I  think  the 
prophet  saw  the  men  of  that  country  in  all  the 
dignity  of  manhood  and  the  women  supported 
at  their  side,  that  is  as  equals  in  society,  as 
helps  meet  for  them,  and  companions  in  life. 
"  Thy  daughters  shall  be  supported  at  the 
side" — not  at  "the  head,"  to  rule  overmen, 
as  some  fanatically  contend;  nor  at  "the 
feet,"  to  be  tramped  upon,  as  in  many  heathen 
countries — but  supported  at  "  the  side  "  as 
equals,  as  companions,  to  be  cherished  and 
loved.  The  pro]3het  saw  woman's  true  posi-  J 
tion  and  remarked  npon  it,  as  one  of  the 
attractive  features  of  that  country,  that  was  to 
have  an  elevating  and  purifying  influence 
upon  the  nations  of  earth. 

V.  5.  "In  that  place,  thou  shalt  see  and 
rejoice,  and  thy  heart  shall  throb  and  be 
enlarged,  because  the  abundance  of  the  sea 


166  THE   STOKE   KINGDOM. 

shall  be  turned  upon  tliee ;  a  liost  [nations] 
shall  come  to  thee." 

Az  is  a  demonstrative  particle,  originally 
of  place,  and  means  here  "in  that  place,"  in 
the  land  of  Israel  restored,  thy  heart  shall 
throb  with  joy  because  of  great  prosperity. 
"The  abundance  of  the  sea,"  or  the  wealth  of 
commerce,  "  shall  be  turned  upon  thee."  This 
land  with  the  Atlantic  on  the  east,  the  Pacific 
on  the  west,  the  Gulf  on  the  south,  and  the 
great  lakes  on  the  north,  furnishes  amj^le 
room  for  the  commerce  of  the  world.  More- 
over, "  a  host,  [nations]  shall  come  unto  thee." 
Even  now  more  than  a  thousand  immigrants 
daily  come  to  our  shores.  How  accurately 
the  prophet  has  described  this  land  ! 

V.  6.  "Abundance  of  camels  shall  cov^er 
thee ;  young  camels  of  Midian  and  Ephah ; 
all  of  them  from  Sheba  shall  come  ;  gold  and 
frankincense  shall  they  bear  and  the  praises 
of  Jehovah  as  good  news." 

y.  7.  "  All  the  flocks  of  Kedar  shall  be 
gathered  for  thee ;  tlie  rams  of  Nebaioth  shall 
minister  to  thee  ;  they  shall  ascend  with  good- 
will my  altar,  and  my  house  of  beaut}^  I  will 
beautify."     This  is  a  political  description  of 


167 

great  commercial  prosperity.  The  terms  and 
names  used  are  oriental,  but  deeply  impress 
us  with  the  idea  of  the  wealth  and  piety  of 
the  land  and  people  described.  With  all  the 
cargoes  of  earthly  products,  they  also  bear 
the  praises  of  Jehovah  as  good  news  wherever 
they  go.  Their  flocks  and  herds,  sources  of 
wealth,  minister  unto  the  Lord.  "And  my 
house  of  beauty  1  will  beautify."  May  not 
this  all  beautifully  describe  the  vast  physical 
resources  of  our  country  with  its  commerce 
and  manufactures,  with  its  untold  agricultural 
wealth,  and  flocks  and  herds  counted  by  mil- 
lions ?  May  not  tliese  make  up  the  ornaments 
with  which  the  house  of  the  Lord,  or  the  land 
of  Israel,  is  to  be  beautified  and  made  attrac- 
tive in  the  eyes  of  the  nations  ?  And  when, 
through  the  "good  news"  of  the  Gospel, 
"Holiness  to  the  Lord"  shall  be  written  on 
all  our  pursuits,  the  beauty  of  His  house  or 
land  will  be  complete. 

Y.  8.  "Who  are  these  that  fly  as  a  cloud 
and  as  doves  to  their  windows  ?"  The  prophet 
looks  again,  while  the  panoramic  vision  is 
passing  and  beholds  shii3S  of  commerce  and 
transportation  with  outspread  sails  like  fleecy 


168  THE   STOITE   KINGDOM. 

clouds,  coming  in  mnltitndes  to  our  shores. 
He  must  have  seen  our  country  at  the  time 
we  are  now  living,  and  further  on,  when  immi- 
grants and  trade  are  coming  from  every  land. 
The  evident  meaning  of  the  prophet  is  that 
the  people  were  coming  here  to  the  land  he 
saw  in  vast  multitudes  to  live  and  traffic. 

y.  9.  "  Surely  the  isles  "  [or  distant  lands 
beyond  the  sea,  or  maritime  regions  very 
remote]  "  shall  wait  for  me  and  ships  of 
Tarshish  [or  Spain]  foremost  [or  first]  to  cause 
to  come  in  thy  sons  from  far  oif  [countries] 
their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them,  for  the 
name  of  Jehovah  thy  God,  and  for  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  because  He  has  honored  thee." 

Diodorus  Siculus,  an  ancient  historian  who 
lived  about  the  time  of  Ca3sar  Augustus,  says 
the  term,  "isles,"  in  his  day,  meant  "undis- 
covered lands  supposed  to  lie  in  the  Atlantic 
Ocean."  This  also  accords  with  the  Hebrew 
word  [eyyeni]  "isles"  which  means  distant 
lands  beyond  the  sea.  In  this  verse  we  have 
a  sublime  announcement  of  our  great  country, 
definitely  pointed  out.  "  Surely  the  isles 
shall  wait  for  me."  The  undiscovered  lands 
of  America  were  lying  hid  for  thousands  of 


"the  waiting  isles."  169 

years,  far  off  in  the  uncrossed  Atlantic.  It  /^ 
was  waiting  the  set  time  in  Grod's  purpose 
and  providence.  It  was  waiting  for  monarchy 
and  despotism  to  act  their  part  and  show 
what  they  could  do,  or  rather  to  show  wliat 
they  could  not  do,  to  elevate  and  amel- 
iorate the  condition  of  men.  They  had  a  fair 
chance,  and  a  long  time  to  bring  forth  ripened 
fruit,  but  behold,  sour  grapes.  Their  effort 
was  a  failure,  and  worse  than  a  failure.  Hence 
they  are  to  be  broken  to  i3ieces  and  driven 
away  like  chaff  before  the  wind.  "  The  isles 
were  waiting  "  for  every  form  of  autocracy  to 
show  its  utter  insufficiency  to  work  out  man's 
highest  political  destiny.  They  were  waiting  / 
till  the  Reformation  would  give  the  human 
mind  a  new  impetus  and  broader  views.  They 
were  waiting  until  the  great  principle  of  self- 
government  should  move  the  masses  to  seek  a 
new  theatre,  in  which  to  realize  the  blessings 
of  popular  freedom.  They  were  waiting  for  ^ 
the  leaven  of  the  Gospel  to  do  its  great  pre- 
paratory work,  for  the  printing  press  to  dif- 
fuse general  intelligence  and  thus  educate  a 
people  intellectually  and  morally,  until  well 
fitted  to   set  up    an    enlightened   republican 


170  THE  STOKE  KINGDOM. 

government.     The  isles  were  waiting  till  the 
set  time  to  favor  Zion  should  come. 

"And  the  ships  of  Tarshish  [or  old  Spain] 
foremost  [or  first]  to  cause  to  come  in  thy  sons 
from  far  oiT"  [countries].     This  prophecy  has 

vibeen  literally  fulfilled.  Did  not  the  ships  of 
Spain  first  discover  this  country  and  open  the 
way  for  immigration  to  the  new  world? 
After  Columbus  had  been  repulsed  from  every 
court  in  Europe,  did  not  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  lend  him  the  necessary  aid,  and 
America  was  discovered  ?  This  was  the  divine 
programme,  revealed  2,500  3^ears  ago.  It  was 
enacted  in  the  right  time  and  by  the  divinely 
appointed  parties.     It  is  passing  strange  that 

\/the  world  of  Bible  readers  have  not  recognized 
this  great  prophecy  and  its  fulfillment  long 
ago !  This  prophecy  cannot  refer  simply  to 
the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  for  missionaries  are 
sent  out  to  the  heathen  ;  but  here  the  sons  of 

"^God  are  represented  as  being  hrouglit  in  from 
diff*erent  and  distant  homes  to  a  newly  dis- 
covered country.  This  prophecy  cannot  refer 
to  Judea,  for  it  was  not  then  an  undiscovered 
country.  And  the  ships  of  Spain  ]iever  could 
bring    the    first    inhabitants     to     Palestine, 


''TH15   WAlTITCa  ISLES.*'  171 

because  that  old  country  was  inhabited  before 
Spain  was  born.  Hence  the  ntter  unfitness  of 
all  these  interpretations. 

''Their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them." 
They  came  with  the  intention  of  making  this 
land  their  home.  They  brought  their  treasure 
with  them.  But  why  did  they  come?  This 
is  an  interesting  question.  The  prophet 
answers  it.  "  For  the  name  of  Jehovah  thy 
God,  and  for  the  Holy  One  of  Israel."  Our 
sainted  ancestors  Avere  persecuted  for  their 
religion.  Because  they  dared  to  worship  God 
according  to  their  convictions  of  truth,  they 
were  driven  out  and  found  homes  in  the  IS'ew 
World.  They  came  here  "  for  the  name  of 
Jehovah  their  God."  When  the  Portuguese 
came — when  Pizarro  and  Cortez  and  the  min- 
ions of  monarchy  came  to  America,  they  came 
for  gold,  and  took  possession  in  the  name  of 
their  respective  governments.  But  when  the 
Huguenots,  the  Quakers,  the  Puritans  and  the 
Covenanters  came,  they  came  for  conscience's 
sake  and  "for  the  name  of  the  Holy  one  of 
Israel."  And  when  they  took  possession  of 
this  land  it  was  not  in  the  name  of  an  earthly 


172  THE   STON-E    KINGDOM. 

sovereign,  but  "for  the  name  of  Jehovah  their 
God,  and  for  the  Hol}^  One  of  Israel." 

*'  Not  as  the  conquerors  came, 
They  the  true-hearted  came  : 
Not  with  the  roll  of  the  stirring  drum, 
Or  the  trumpet  that  sings  of  fame. 

"  Ah,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  spot  where  first  they  trod : 
They've  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, 
Freedom  to  worship  God." 

''  Because  He  has  honored  thee  ":  this  seems 
to  be  the  grand  reason  why  He  has  so  dealt 
with  "  the  waiting  Isles."  He  has  honored 
thee  in  making  thy  land  the  scene  of  Israel's 
restoration.  He  has  honored  thee  with  that 
government,  symbolized  by  the  "  Stone," 
which  crushed  monarchy  and  drove  it  from 
the  earth.  He  has  honored  thee  as  the  agent 
whose  mission  is  to  bless  the  nations  with 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  Ten  thousand 
blessings  are  thine,  "  because  He  has  honored 
thee." 

y.  10.  "  And  strangers  shall  build  thy  walls, 
and  their  kings  shall  minister  unto  thee ;  for 
in  my  anger  I  smote  thee,  and  in  my  favor  I 
had  compassion  on  thee." 


173 

The  prophet  continues  his  address  to  the 
land  saying,  "strangers  shall  build  thy 
walls."  The  white  man  was  a  stranger  in 
the  first  settlement  of  this  countrj^  He  was 
so  called  and  considered  by  the  Aborigines ; 
and  more  forcefully  still,  he  felt  liimself  to  be 
a  stranger  in  a  strange  land  and  surrounded  by 
a  strange  people.  Hence  they  began  to  build 
"  walls  "  or  forts  or  fortifications  for  their  safe- 
ty, to  defend  themselves  against  the  sudden 
and  bloody  attacks  of  surrounding  savages. 

''  And  their  kings  [the  kings  of  these  stran- 
gers] shall  minister  unto  thee."  The  kings  of 
Europe  ministered  unto  this  land  by  sending 
out  colonies  and  sustaining  them  in  their 
feebleness ;  by  encouraging  emigration ;  by 
granting  charters ;  by  establishing  govern- 
ments ;  and  in  various  ways  "  the  kings  "  of 
these  strangers  ministered  unto  the  settlement 
and  development  of  the  land. 

"For  in  my  anger  I  smote  thee."  During 
uncounted  centuries  the  land  was  occupied  by 
savages.  All  its  greatness  amounted  to  noth- 
ing. It  brought  forth  no  ripe  fruit.  Its  deso- 
lation amid  such  mafirnificence  showed  that  its 


"iD' 


God  in  anger  had  smitten  it.     But  now  how 


'& 


174  THE   STOIS^E   KINGDOM. 

changed  the  scene !  Civilization  and  the  gos- 
pel have  come  to  give  life  to  the  dead — life  to 
the  dead  resources  of  the  land,  and  life  to  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  Now,  the  praises  of  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel  are  echoed  from  the  moun- 
tains and  the  plains,  while  the  busy  hum  of 
millions  tells  of  a  prosperous  and  happy 
people.  Grod's  anger  is  exchanged  for  love. 
Of  a  truth  "  In  my  favor  I  had  compassion  on 
thee." 

Y.  11.  "And  thy  gates  shall  be  open  con- 
tinually; day  and  night  they  shall  not  be 
shut,  to  cause  to  come  in  unto  thee  a  host 
[nations],  and  their  kings  drive  them  off." 

The  prophet  looked  forward  2,500  years 
and  saw  things  just  as  they  now  are  and  have 
been.  "  And  thy  gates  shall  be  open  contin- 
ually "  means  the  sea-ports  of  our  country  are 
o]3en  to  the  ships  of  all  nations,  to  bring  in, 
not  only  their  articles  of  commerce,  but  emi- 
grants seeking  homes  in  a  more  congenial 
clime,  where  their  prospects  are  brighter,  and 
life  may  be  made  more  desirable.  The 
"  nations  "  have  heard  of  this  land  and  its 
"  open  gates,"  and  they  are  coming  in  "  hosts." 
The  boundless  prairies  and  the  oj)en  country 


175 

of  tlie  West  invite  tliem  to  come,  and  they 
are  coming  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands. These  arguments  are  causing  to  come 
unto  thee  "  a  host,"  yea,  even  "  nations." 

"  And  their  kings  drive  them  off,"  by  tyran- 
iiy?  ^y  oppression  and  by  persecution.  How 
many  thousands  in  tlie  early  settlement  of 
our  country  came  hither  for  conscience's 
sake.  They  were  not  allowed  to  worship)  God 
as  they  pleased,  and  they  chose  expatriation 
rather  than  religious  servitude.  "  Their 
kings  "  stirred  up  their  nests  in  their  father- 
land, and  "  drove  them  off."  By  the  Revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  500,000  Huguenots 
left  France  for  foreign  countries,  and  many  of 
them  came  to  our  shores.  Protestants  were 
excluded  from  office  and  places  of  trust.  If 
they  were  not  married  in  the  Catholic  Church, 
their  marriage  was  illegal  and  their  children 
were  called  bastards.  Not  only  in  France,  but 
in  other  kingdoms,  by  wars  and  bloody  per- 
secutions and  annoyances  of  less  magnitude, 
"their  kings  drove  them  off."  And  multi- 
tudes of  them  directed  their  way  to  this  land 
of  "  open  gates,"  where  liberty  may  be 
enjoyed  to   the  full.     And  they   have   come 


176  THE   STON-E   KINGDOM. 

and  are  now  coming  by  "hosts"  and  by 
''nations."  In  the  single  State  of  Texas,  the 
Bible  is  published  and  sold  in  thirteen  differ- 
ent languages.  And  the  cry  is,  still  they 
come  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  a  day.  A  feel- 
^ing  of  unrest  among  the  nations  is  a  bountiful 
source  that  keeps  the  stream  of  emigration 
flowing  with  an  increasing  swell  upon  these 
shores.  The  high  claims  of  monarchy  and 
autocracy  will  always  be  a  disturbing  ele- 
ment, to  drive  off  their  people  to  that  country 
where  the  highest  offices  may  be  obtained  and 
iilled  by  men  from  the  humblest  walks  of 
society ;  where  true  merit  alone  is,  or  ought 
to  be,  the  badge  of  promotion. 

Y.  12.  ''  For  the  nation  and  the  kingdom 
that  will  not  do  work  for  thee  shall  be  de- 
stroyed ;  yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly 
desolated." 

V  This  is  what  the  prophet  saw  after  looking 
down  the  track  of  our  history.  He  has  simply 
recorded  great  facts  that   he   has   witnessed. 

y  "  The  nation  and  the  kingdom  that  will  not 
do  work  for  thee,"  /.  e.,  co-operate  with  thee 
in  the  work  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  in 
promoting  human  freedom,  spiritual  freedom, 


"  THE    WAITING   ISLES."  177 

mental  freedom,  and  the  gosj)el  of  salvation, 
and  in  exalting  Christ  as  King  of  nations — 
all  those  nations  which  oppose  the  progress  ' 
of  the  march  of  truth,  "  shall  be  destroyed, 
yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly  desolated." 
This  is  the  grand  mission  of  the  Stone  gov- 
ernment, as  revealed  by  Daniel,  to  crush 
and  destroy  all  forms  of  absolutism,  and 
to  establish  in  their  place  free  governments, 
in  which  Christ  alone  is  King.  "For  the  na-^ 
tion  and  the  kingdom  that  will  not  do  work  for 
thee,"  in  scattering  seeds  of  truth,  in  diffusing 
light  among  the  masses,  in  promoting  popular 
freedom,  in  elevating  man  to  his  highest  tem- 
poral condition,  and  in  giving  free  course  to 
the  Gospel  to  accomplish  its  holy  mission, 
"shall  be  destroyed;  yea,  those  nations  shall 
be  utterly  desolated." 

V.  13.  "  The  glory  of  Lebanon  shall  come 
to  thee;  the  pine,  the  hard  oak,  and  the 
box  together,  to  adorn  the  place  of  my 
sanctuary;  and  the  place  of  my  feet  I 
will  adorn."  As  the  cedars  of  Lebanon 
helped  to  adorn  Solomon's  temple  and  Jeru- 
salem, the  place  of  His  sanctuary,  so  in  this 
great  land  of  Israel   restored,  we   have   vast 


178  THE    STOXE    KINGDOM. 

forests  of  pine  and  cedar,  and  liard  oak 
and  cypress,  and  all  sorts  of  timber,  for 
groves  and  ornamentation.  Thousands  of  line 
clmrches,  adorned  with  pine,  and  hard  oak, 
and  cedar,  and  cy^jress,  all  over  the  land, 
beautify  the  place  of  my  sanctuary.  ''The 
place  of  my  feet  I  will  adorn":  the  whole 
country,  the  place  of  His  feet,  is  being  rapidly 
adorned  with  residences,  academies,  towns, 
cities,  and  adornments  of  all  kinds  made  from 
the  rich  profusion  of  building  material.  Truly, 
"  the  place  of  my  feet  I  will  adorn."  The  huts 
and  cabins  of  primitive  life,  have  been  substi- 
tuted by  a  vastly  imjDroved  architecture. 

V.  14.  "  The  sons  of  thy  oppressors,  [or  those 
^ho  afflicted  thee,]  shall  come  bending  to  thee, 
and  shall  bow  themselves  down  to  the  soles  of 
thy  feet ;  all  those  who  despised  thee ;  and 
they  shall  call  thee  the  city  of  Jehovah.  Zion, 
the  holy  of  Israel." 

Has  it  not  already  come  to  pass  that  the 
sons  of  those  who  oppressed  and  afflicted  us, 
yea,  the  descendants  of  the  very  soldier}^  that 
murdered  our  citizens,  burned  our  towns,  and 
distressed  our  people,  have  come  by  thousands, 
to  submit  to  that  government  which  they  at- 


179 

tempted  to  destroy  ?  Yea,  tliey  acknowledge 
its  success,  and  cringingly  beg  for  office,  or 
places  of  profit.  Tliey  have  come  and  cast 
in  their  lot  with  us ;  have  invested  their 
wealth  under  the  protection  of  the  govern- 
ment they  tried  to  crush.  They  now  honor 
the  experiment  of  human  freedom  they  once 
despised.  They  scoffingiy  said  our  boasted  / 
independence  would  be  buried  with  Washing- 
ton. But  now  they  are  w^illing  to  venture 
their  all  under  the  protection  of  that  flag  they 
sneeringly  said  would  be  the  winding-sheet 
of  American  libert}^.  God's  ways  are  higher 
than  man's  Avays,  and  His  thoughts  than  our 
thoughts. 

Truly,  "  there  is  a  divinity  that  shapes  our/ 
ends."  This  Stone  government  is  His  own 
providential  establishment.  Even  those  who 
once  despised  our  political  experiment  now 
acknowledge  its  power,  and  behold  with  aston- 
ishment the  grandeur  of  its  success. 

''They  shall  call  thee  the  city  of  Jeliovali,''  v 
so  manifest  are  His   dealings   with  us.      In  "^ 
fact,  He  is  our  great  Governor,  and  exercises 
executive  authority  in  the  afl'airs  of  the  na- 
tion.    "Zion,  the  holy  of  Israel"  shalt  thou 


180  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

be  called;  that  is,  this  people  and  land  will 
be  sacred  to  Him,  for  it  is  the  home  of  millions 
of  God's  people,  and  it  is  the  grand  centre 
^  from  whence  pure  rays  of  light,  from  the  sun 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  are  going  out, 
and  will  go  out,  with  increasing  brightness,  to 
bless  the  nations  of  earth  with  new  life,  and  a 
higher  development,  spiritually,  politically, 
and  in  all  the  departments  of  human  progress. 
'^ This  is  the  divine  mission  of  the  "Stone," — 
also  of  "  the  ancient  of  days," — of  ''  theMan- 
Cliild," — of  "Israel  set  up  the  second  time." 

V.  15.  "Instead  of  being  ruins,  and  ugly, 
and  none  passed  through,  I  will  make  thee 
a  perpetual  excellency,  a  joy  from  age  to 
age." 

This  is  a  cheering  statement.  Our  country 
lay  in  ruins  for  thousands  of  years,  unim- 
proved and  ugly  ;  and  none  passed  through  ; 
no  commerce  with  the  nations,  no  one  to  beau- 
tify its  mountains,  or  cultivate  its  plains.  The 
whole  land  lay  in  rubbish  and  ruins,  undis- 
covered and  unknown  to  Japheth,  the  leader 
of  the  world.  Instead  of  this  desolation  and 
neglect,  "  I  will  make  thee  a  perpetual  excel- 
lency from  age  to  age."     Here,  the  Grospel  is 


181 

preached.  Here  no  mitered  priest  or  kingly 
crown  directs  tlie  affairs  of  Church  or  State. 
Here,  every  man  is  free  to  vote  or  worship  as  / 
he  pleases.  Our  simple  system  of  republican/ 
self-government  gives  the  largest  range  to 
human  capability.  A  man's  own  will  and 
capacity  alone  limit  his  attainments.  He  may 
reach  high,  and  obtain  all  the  wealth  and  po- 
sition he  can.  This  is  every  man's  right  and 
privilege,  and  none  dare  rob  him  of  it.  The 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  country  protect 
him  in  every  honorable  and  praiseworthy  avo- 
cation. Here,  every  man  is  a  king,  and  his  / 
house  is  his  palace ;  he  bows  only  to  sove- 
reign law,  for  the  public  good.  Verily,  the 
Lord  hath  made  this  land  ''  a  perpetual  ex- 
cellency.'' And  when  He  tells  us  it  shall  v 
be  "a  joy  from  age  to  age,"  it  should  in- 
spire us  as  a  peojDle,  and  especially  all  our 
law-makers  and  rulers  with  a  holy  zeal  and 
a  deep  devotion,  to  accomplish  its  grand  ^ 
mission  among  the  nations.  For  this  govern- 
ment is  to  continue  "from  age  to  age."  It 
will  pteadily  improve  in  morals  and  man- 
ners, as  it  grows  in  years.  Its  legislation 
will  be   purged   and  purified.     Whatever  is 


182  THE   STOT^E   KII^^GDOM. 

rotten  in  the  body-politic  will  slough  off,  as 
having  no  sympath}^  or  vital  connection  with  its 
vital  growth.  Our  legislators  will  gradually  im- 
prove in  moral  courage,  so  that  golden  argu- 
ments will  have  no  power  to  turn  them  from  the 
vvay  of  right.  Then  the  cess-pools  of  iniquity 
and  vice,  which  are  now  a  stench  in  the  nation, 
will  be  removed  or  dried  uj)  and  cleansed,  be- 
cause no  longer  protected  by  law.  Then  a 
purilied  and  healthful  atmosphere  will  minis- 
ter to  a  healthful  growth  and  to  a  vigorous 
and  virtuous  development.  This  is  not  a 
fanciful  forecasting,  but  directly  in  accord- 
ance with  the  teaching  of  the  prophets      For 

'^this  government  is  not  to  share  the  fate  of 
other  governments  that  have  jDreceded  it.   The 

>/  history  of  its  rise  and  progress  will  be  written, 
but  never  that  of  its  fall.  It  will  be  more  and 
more  perfectly  developed,  until  it  rests  under 
the  bright  light  of  millennial  glory.  To  this 
end,  may  the  Lord  rule  among  our  rulers,  and 
"  teach  our  senators  wisdom." 

Y.  16.  "  And  thou  shalt  suck  the  milk  of  na- 
tions, [/.  e.,  get  their  wealth]  and  the  breast  of 
kings  thou  shalt  suck,  and  thou  shalt  know  that 
I,  Jehovah,  am  thy  Savior,  and  thy  Kedeemer, 
the  Mighty  One  of  Jacob." 


183 

Tlie  propliet  here  tells  liow  tliis  land  of/ 
Israel  will  grow  in  wealtli  and  power.  Suck- 
ing is  a  drawing  process  to  obtain  the  milk. 
So  the  attractions  of  this  country  have  drawn 
hither  the  milk  of  the  nations.  And  in  the 
early  settlement  of  our  country,  when  the 
Huguenots,  the  Quakers,  the  Puritans,  the 
Covenanters,  the  Scotch  and  the  Scotch-Irish 
came,  we  not  only  sucked  the  milk  of  nations, 
but  we  got  the  cream — the  ver}^  class  of  men  ^ 
our  country  needed,  who  were  trained  in  the 
school  of  Providence  and  best  fitted  for  laying 
the  broad  foundation  of  this  great  govern- 
ment. And  since  then,  millions  of  brawny 
arms  have  come,  and  are  still  coming,  to  de- 
velop the  limitless  resourced  of  the  land,  to 
cultivate  the  soil,  to  open  the  mines,  to  build 
our  railroads,  even  from  ocean  to  ocean. 
Truly  "thou  hast  sucked  the  milk  of  the  ^ 
nations." 

"And  thou  slialt  suck  the  breast  of  kings." 
Some  of  our  learned  commentators  seem  to 
think  this  clause  is  a  catachresis — a  rhetorical 
blunder — where  the  sense  overleaps  the  style. 
But  not  so.  God  makes  no  blunders,  rhetori- 
cal, or   other ;    but    commentators    often   do. 


184  THE   STOT^E   KINGDOM. 

when  tliey  don't  know  what  they  are  wri- 
ting about.  This  i^ropliecy  means  just  what 
it  says.  For  just  in  proportion  as  we  "  suck 
the  millv  of  the  nations "  and  absorb  tlieir 
wealth  and  power,  in  the  same  proportion  we 
increase  our  own  wealth  and  greatness.  This 
sucking  of  the  milk  of  the  nations  comes  first, 
by  which  we  are  made  more  powerful  and  the 
better  able  to  "  suck  the  breasts  of  kings," 
i.  e.,  take  from  them  their  tyrannical  power 
and  iron  rule,  and  suck  from  them  the  starch 
out  of  their  stiffening,  and  make  them  more 
like  other  men — suck  from  their  autocratic 
domination,  and  take  from  them  the  power  to 
persecute  the  Church,  to  shed  innocent  blood, 
and  to  trample  God's  people  under  their  feet. 
So  wonderful  shall  be  the  growth  of  this 
country  in  wealth,  in  power,  in  true  religion, 
and  general  intelligence  !  And  its  rellex  in- 
fluence on  kings  shall  be  so  amazing  in  soften- 
ing, moderating,  and  changing  their  rule,  and 
compelling  them  to  regard  the  rights  of  their 
subjects,  that  ''  thou  shalt  know  that  I,  Jeho- 
vah, am  thy  Savior,  and  thy  Redeemer,  the 
Mighty  One  of  Jacob."  Men  shall  see  and 
know  that  such  mighty  results   are  brought 


185 

about  by  the  band  of  God,  and  not  merely  by 
bnman  wisdom.     His  band  is  and  has  been  so  / 
manifest  in    tlie  affairs  of  this  country,  that 
even   tlie   wicked   see   it   and  profanely  say, 
*'  there  is  a  strange  providence  that  takes  care  " 
of  children,  negroes,  and  the  United  States."  v 

y.  17.  "Instead  of  the  brass,  I  will  bring 
gold;  and  instead  of  the  iron,  I  will  bring 
silver ;  and  instead  of  the  wood,  brass ;  and 
instead  of  the  stones,  iron  ;  and  I  will  make 
thy  officers  peace,  and  thy  rulers  justice." 

Israel  restored,  is  here  described  as  being 
vastly  richer  than  ancient  Israel.  The  con- 
trast is  minutely  made.  The  Hebrew  definite 
article  expresses  it.  "  Instead  of  tlie  brass  of 
ancient  Israel,  I  will  bring  gold  to  Israel  re- 
stored ;  and  instead  of  the  iron,  I  will  bring 
silver  ;  instead  of  the  wood,  brass  ;  instead  of 
the  stone,  iron.  The  difference  betA^een  the 
two  estates  is  not  in  Mnd^  but  in  degree.  In 
the  first  estate  Israel  was  confined  to  one 
family  ;  in  the  second,  Israel  is  to  bless  all  the 
families  of  earth.  If  it  took  all  the  silver  and 
gold  mentioned  concerning  ancient  Israel,  to 
me^t  her  demands,  it  will  now,  in  the  dispen-  ^ 
sation  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  world-wide  work, 


v^ 


186  THE   STONE   KII^GDOM. 

take  millions  more.  If  it  took  one-tentli  of 
tlie  income  of  every  man  in  ancient  Israel  to 
support  the  Tabernacle,  what  will  it  take  now 
to  support  the  Gosj^el,  and  to  send  its  heavenly 
news  to  the  ends  of  tlie  earth?  The  Lord  has 
given  us  a  land  equal  to  the  tax,  and  with  that 
tax  paid  promptly.  He  guarantees  unfailing 
prosperity.  With  increased  responsibility  He 
has  increased  our  resources.  During  the  iirst 
300  3'ears  after  America  was  discovered,  it 
furnished  3^  *time  more  gold  and  12  times 
more  silver  than  all  the  world  besides.  Our 
hills  are  burdened  with  iron,  more  than  enougli 
to  build  a  network  of  highways  from  ocean 
to  ocean,  and  our  ships  and  palaces.  Our 
resources  are  absolutely  inexhaustible. 

"I  will  make  thy  officers  peace  and  thy 
rulers  justice."  We  have  no  knighted  herald- 
ry, no  pomp  and  power  of  privileged  classes 
to  trample  on  the  rights  of  the  people.  All 
our  "  officers  are  j)eace."  No  military  trap- 
pings to  tyrannize  over  us,  but  every  man  is 
]peaceably  tried  by  his  peers.  "  I  will  make 
thy  rulers  j ustice."  Our  Constitution  requires 
the  laws  to  be  executed  with  justice.  Fre- 
quentl}^  justice  is  robbed  of  its  aim,  not  be- 


"the  waiting  isles."  187 

cause  of  defect  in  organic  law,  but  because  of 
human  corruption,  incident  to  fallen  man.  The 
civil  code  of  the  States  is  based  on  the  princi- 
ples of  eternal  right.  So  that  it  is  true  ours 
are  "officers  of  peace  and  rulers  of  justice." 

y.  18.  "  Yiolence  shall  be  heard  no  more  in 
thy  land,  desolation  and  ruin  within  thy  bor- 
ders, and  thou  shalt  call  thy  walls  Deliverance 
and  thy  gates  Praise." 

For  long  centuries  the  Church  had  a  baptism 
of  blood.  Yiolence  seemed  to  be  her  heir- 
loom, handed  down  from  age  to  age.  "  I  came 
not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword"  has  been 
fearfull3^  realized.  The  names  of  Smithfield, 
Piedmont,  St.  Bartholomew,  Inquisition  and  a 
score  of  others  will  tell  to  the  latest  generation 
of  the  violence  endured  by  the  Church.  But, 
thank  God,  there  is  now  a  land  where  violence 
shall  be  heard  no  more.  Desolated  homes 
and  ruined  fortunes  for  Christ's  sake  shall 
never  be  seen  within  thy  borders.  "  Thou 
shalt  call  thy  walls  Deliverance  and  thy  gates 
Praise."  Here  the  Lord's  people  are  delivered 
from  the  blood- hounds  of  cruelty.  They  are 
free  and  safe,  forever  safe,  and  "  thy  gates 
shall  be  praise." 


188  THE    STONE   KITTGDOM. 

V.  19.  "  Thy  sun  sliall  not  be  to  thee  any 
more  for  a  light  by  clay,  and  for  brightness 
the  moon  shall  not  shine  to  thee  ;  but  Jehovah 
shall  become  tliy  everlasting  light,  and  thy 
God  thy  glory." 

In  this  verse  we  have  another  of  those 
adversative  clauses  where  v,av  is  translated 
"but."  The  peo]3le  of  God  for  many 
centuries  had  been  driven  from  country  to 
country  by  terrible  persecution.  They  had 
been  hiding  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  moun- 
tains. Their  life  had  been  made  a  living 
death.  For  hundreds  of  years  the  Claver- 
houses  of  Satan  had  turned  loose  their  hell- 
hounds on  the  track  of  Christians.  But,  in 
the  good  i^rovidence  of  God,  a  country  was 
discovered  in  which  the  Stone  Kingdom  was 
set  up — where  Israel  should  be  restored.  The 
persecuted  ones  see  it,  and  come  by  thousands 
and  scores  of  thousands.  Here,  they  are  free 
to  worship  God  as  they  please,  free  from 
oppression  and  from  persecution.  In  this 
land  "violence  shall  no  more  be  heard." 
They  are  so  happy  that  the  light  of  the  sun 
by  day  and  the  moon  by  night  is  considered 
no  light  at  all  in  comparison  with  the  good- 


189 

ness  of  God  experienced  by  tliem  and  tlieir 
great  joy  of  heart,  "  for  Jeliovali  sliall  be  thy 
everlasting  light  and  thy  God  thy  glory."" 
The  Sun  of  Righteousness  shone  upon  them 
so  brightly,  so  cheeringly,  that  the  shining  of 
the  sun  and  moon  are  nothing  to  be  compared 
to  their  sj)iritual  iUumination,  to  their  appre- 
hension of  the  goodness  of  God  in  giving  them 
peace^  glorious  peace,  peace  that  flows  like  a 
river'.     Truly  ''  their  God  was  their  glory." 

y.  20.  "  Thy   sun  shall  go  down  no  more, 
and  thy  moon  shall  not  be  taken  away,  for 
Jehovah  shall  be  to  thee  for  an  everlasting  y 
light,  and  the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be 
ended." 

The  sun  is  a  symbol  of  civil  government. 
Seelsa.  xiii  :  10  ;  xxiv  :  23  ;  Jer.  xv  :  9  ;  Ezek. 
xxxii :  7  .  Joel  ii :  31  ;  Amos  viii  :  9.  "  Thy 
sun  shall  go  down  no  more,"  as  in  ancient 
Israel.  That  people  accomplished  their  mis- 
sion, and  were  scattered  among  the  nations. 
Their  government  was  utterly  destroyed. 
Their  political  sun  went  down  in  blood,  andv/ 
their  peoj)le  became  exiles  and  fugitives.  But 
in  Israel  restored,  thy  sun,  i.  e.^  thy  civil 
government,  shall  go  down  no  more.     "  I  will 


190  THE    STOI^E    KINGDOM. 

make  tliee  a  perpetual  excellency,  a  joy  from 
age  to  age." 

"  Tliy  moon  shall  not  be  taken  away."    The 

"^moon  is  a  symbol  of  the  Chnrch.  Ancient 
Israel  rejected  the  Savior.  "He  came  nnto 
His  own,  and  His  own  received  Him  not," 
therefore  they  were  cast  off.  "  The  daily 
sacrifice  was  taken  away,"  and  their  govern- 
ment and  Church  went  down :  but  in  Israel 
restored,  their  civil  and  religious  privileges 
and  blessings  shall  continue  forever ;  her 
"  moon  shall  not  be  taken  away  ;  for  Jehovali 
shall  be  to  thee  for  an  everlasting  light,  and 
the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended." 
The  Church  is  no  more  to  take  refuge  in  the 
wilderness ;  racks,  stakes  and  gibbets  are  no 
more  to  be  the  death  places  of  the  saints. 
These  horrid  monuments  of  torture  crowd  the 
pages  of  the  past ;  but  now,  let  all  praise  to 

y  Jehovah's  name  be  given,  because  "the  days 
of  thy  mourning  are  ended." 

Y.  21.  "And  thy  people  all  of  them  just 
[/.  e.  doing  and  loving  justice]  shall  possess 
the  land  forever,  the  sj)rout  of  my  planting, 
the  work  of  my  hands,  to  glorify  myself." 


191 

To  tlie  just  aud  upright  man  tlie  Hebrews 
attributed  also  Tiindness  and  liberality.  See 
Ps.  xxxvii :  21 ;  Prov.  xii :  10 ;  xxi  :  26.  This 
then  being  the  meaning  of  the  word  '^just " 
in  this  connection,  it  gives  an  exact  descrip- 
tion of  the  people  of  our  country.  Their  kind- 
ness of  disposition,  and  liberality  to  all,  are 
notable  characteristics  of  American  citizens. 

"Shall  possess  the  land  forever."  It  will/ 
not  be  given  to  other  peoples.  Great  changes 
may  take  place,  and  must  take  place.  Great 
progress  and  improvements  in  every  depart- 
ment will  be  made  ;  but  the  government  willy 
always  remain  an  elective,  representative 
government.  For  all  of  monarchy  is  to  be 
utterly  destroyed ;  because  kings  have  always 
worn,  and  now  wear,  their  crowns  under  the 
divine  protest ;  and  when  autocracy  is  swept 
away,  there  will  be  no  other  form  of  govern- 
ment left  to  manage  or  control  the  masses 
of  mankind,  except  representative  republi- 
canism. 

"  The  sprout  of  my  planting,  the  work  of 
my  hands."     These  are  love- words  which  the 
Lord  hath  spoken  to  His  people.  They  contain  / 
a  soul-cheering  promise  of  perpetual  posses- 


192  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

sion  ;  His  people  "  shall  possess  the  land  for- 
ever." This  country  is  the  spront  of  His 
planting,  the  work  of  His  hands  to  glorify 
Himself."  By  this  we  understand  the  provi- 
dential settlement  of  God's  people  in  this 
country,  under  a  form  of  government  divinely 
approved,  under  the  government  of  "the 
sprout  of  Jesse  ";  where  Church  and  State  are 
mutually  dependent  for  the  progress  and  pros- 
perity of  the  whole.  The  Church  cannot  do 
without  the  State,  and  the  State  cannot  do 
without  the  Church  ;  while  they  are  separate, 
and  each  indej)endent,  their  prosperous  and 
harmonious  co-operation  plainly  shows  that 
this  country,  so  pointedly  described  by  the 
prophets,  is  the  "  sprout  of  the  Lord's  plant- 
ing, the  work  of  His  hands." 

"To  glorify  myself."  Where  the  great 
principles  of  truth  and  righteousness  are  culti- 
vated, where  the  divine  law  is  respected  and 
honored,  where  light  and  liberty  are  diffused 
among  the  nations,  where  love  to  God  and  be- 
nevolence to  our  fellow-men  abide,  there  truly 
the  Lord  is  glorified  in  His  wonderful  love  to 
the  children  of  men,  nationally,  socially  and 
ecclesiastically. 


193 

Y.  22.  "A  small  number  shall  become  a 
thousand,  and  a  few  in  number  shall  become 
a  mighty  nation.  I,  the  Lord,  will  hasten  it 
in  its  time."  Our  country  in  its  beginning 
was  "  a  little  one,"  but  now  it  has  become  a 
mighty  nation.  And  3^et,  it  has  only  com- 
menced its  growth.  Truly  the  Lord  is  with 
us.  He  is  marshaling  His  forces  for  grander 
conquests.  For  He  has  said,  "  I,  the  Lord, 
will  hasten  it  in  its  time." 


■-^^^riri/i^--^.^u-irLf(y-'^^yijyi/ 


CHAPTER  XI. 

"BEHOLD  I  DO  A  NEW  THING," 

Or  the  Primal  Curse  Rolling  Back. — Isaiah  xliii.  18-21. 

^^^§  18.  "Rememlber  not  former  tilings,  and 
©11(9%  tilings  of  old  shall  not  be  rebuilt." 
As  if  the  prophet  had  said,  '  Why  should  I 
refer  to  ancient  instances  of  God's  almighty 
intervention  in  behalf  of  His  peoj)le,  when 
others  quite  as  remarkable  are  to  come  ? 
Remember  not  the  former  condition  of  ancient 
Israel.  Set  not  your  heart  upon  the  land  of 
Judea,  nor  think  to  restore  it  to  its  former 
glory.'  It  had  served  its  purpose  in  the  econ- 
omy of  grace ;  it  had  been  the  cradle  of  the 
Church  ;  it  was  well  suited  for  its  home  in 
infancy  ;  its  territory  was  admirably  adapted 
in  all  respects  in  which  to  accomplish  its 
divine  mission.  But  now  the  Church  is 
"  God's  warrior  "  to  conquer  the  world,  and  it 
must  have    another    land,    more   accessible, 

194 


A   NEW    THING.  195 

vastly  larger  and  better  fitted  every  way  to  ^ 
be  the  headquarters  of  the  Lord's  conquering 
host. 

"Old  things,"  or  the  former  estate  of  they 
Church,  "shall  not  be  rebuilt."  This  is  a 
positive  statement  that  ought  for  ever  to  set 
at  rest  that  false  interpretation  which  says, 
"  Israel  restored"  means  that  old  Judea  is  to 
be  re-inhabited,  and  all  the  tribes  of  Israel 
must  return  to  Palestine,  the  temple  must  be 
rebuilt,  and  I  know  not  what  other  things  are  to 
be  done ;  this  interpretation  is  all  gratuitous 
and  as  fanciful  as  it  is  false.  This  theory  is  not 
consistent  with  the  teaching  of  God's  word, 
nor  with  the  glorious  development  of  the 
Church  "in  the  latter  days."  For  the  proph- 
et expressly  says  the  "  old  things,"  or  things 
of  old  "shall  not  be  rebuilt."  This  is  an 
astonishing  statement,  nevertheless  it  is  true, 
because  the  Lord  liath  declared  it.  The  word 
translated  "rebuilt"  is  the  hithpael  of  the 
verb  danalt  "  to  build."  I  cannot  see  how  it 
can  be  consistently  translated  "  consider," 
and  thereby  change  the  whole  meaning  of  the 
verse.  That  translation,  or  rather  that  substi- 
tution, is  without  foundation — without  a  cor- 


196  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

responding  word  in  the  original  and  entirely 
gratuitous.  It  brings  to  this  passage  a  cloud 
of  smoke  instead  of  a  flood  of  light.  This 
word,  hanali^  is  one  of  the  great  decisive 
words  in  the  Bible  whicli  must  be  translated 
correctly.  Gesenius  gives  the  meaning  of  this 
word  ''  to  build  "  in  all  its  forms  but  never  to 
"consider."  The  commentators  areas  silent 
as  the  grave  on  this  word.  They  did  not  know 
what  to  do  with  it  and  retain  their  notions 
about  the  restoration  of  Israel  in  old  Pales- 
tine. This  whole  passage  is  irreconcilable 
with  that  old  theory  and  declares  directly 
against  it. 

V.  19.  "Behold  I  do  a  new  thing.  At  this 
time  it  shall  spring  forth  ;  shall  ye  not  know 
it,  [or  shall  ye  know  what  it  is]  ?  I  will  even 
place  in  the  wilderness  a  way  [or  a  going] 
and  streams  in  the  waste  place." 

"  Behold  I  do  a  new  thing,"  for  the  Church 
and  for  my  people.  Something  that  the  world 
had  never  seen  before — something  on  a  grand- 
er scale  than  were  the  former  things  and  the 
things  of  old,  so  great  that  the  former  things 
will  not  be  remembered. 

"At  this  time  it  shall  spring  forth,"  at  the 


A   KEW   THINO.  197 

time  when  "I  do  a  new  thing."  All  this  im- 
plies that  this  "new  thing"  was  far  in  the 
future,  or  at  least  not  then  developed. 

"  Shall  ye  not  know  it,  [or  do  you  not  know 
what  it  is]  ?"  This  seems  to  be  a  divine  chal- 
lenge for  inquiry  and  investigation. 

"  I  will  even  place  in  the  wilderness  a  way 
[or  a  going],  and  streams  in  the  waste  place." 
This  is  the  answer  to  the  question  just  asked. 
This  is  the  "  new  thing  "  I  will  place  in  the 
wilderness,  in  this  country  that  had  been 
"always  waste,"  in  that  "land  shadowed 
with  wings,"  in  the  land  of  Israel  restored, 
in  our  own  America — "  the  wilderness,"  "  a 
way,"  or  "a  going,"  I  will  build.  The  form 
of  this  expression  is  singular,  but  the  sense 
is  collective,  doubtless  referring  to  the  great 
system  of  railways  that  now  form  a  net-work 
of  "  goings  "  to  and  fro :  the  highways  on 
Avhicli  millions  travel.  And  was  it  not  in  this 
country  that  steam  was  first  successfully  ap- 
plied to  navigation  ?  This  interpretation  is 
confirmed  by  the  next  expression,  "  and 
streams  in  the  waste  j)lace."  What  sort  of 
streams  ?  Does  it  not  mean  the  vast  current, 
or  streams  of  population  now  flowing  into  our 


V 


*   198  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

country,  tliat  was  for  tlionsands  of  years  a 
wilderness  and  a  waste  place.  Our  country  at> 
present  furnishes  a  literal,  a  wonderful  fulfill- 
ment of  this  prophecy.  Truly  it  is  "  a  new 
thing  "  that  has  come  to  pass,  a  new  country 
and  a  new  people,  gathered  from  all  lands,  by 
a  new  mode  of  transportation  and  locomotion  ; 
such  as  the  ancients  never  saw.  Ancient  Is- 
rael had  its    day,   and    did  its   preparatory 


thing "  in  Israel  restored ;  in  comparison 
with  which  former  things  shall  "  not  he  remem- 
bered." The  setting  up  of  the  Stone  kingdom 
marks  a  new  era  in  the  world's  history,  civilly, 
socially,  religiously,  and  mechanically.  Small 
sailing  vessels  and  old  time  wagons  and  ox 
teams  are  now  substituted  by  floating  palaces 
and  lightning  express  trains.  That  was  a  slow 
age  of  plodding — this  is  the  steam  age  of 
locomotion.  This  makes  a  new  page  in  his- 
tory and  a  new  epoch  in  the  world.  Truly, 
this  is  a  new  thing  the  Lord  hath  done.  As 
''  the  glory  of  the  latter  house  shall  be  greater 
than  the  former,"  so  Israel  restored  shall  be 
greater  than  ancient  Israel.  The  next  verse 
also  confirms  this  interpretation. 


V 


A   IS-EW   THING.  199 

V.  20.  "The  living  thing  of  the  conhtiy^ 
shall  honor  me,  the  great  serpent  and  the 
daughters  of  shouting,  because  I  have  placed 
waters  in  the  wilderness,  streams  in  the  waste 
place,  for  the  watering  of  [or  refreshment  of] 
my  people — my  chosen." 

What  is  "  the  living  thing  of  the  country  ?" 
It  is  something  that  has  power  and  motion.  It 
passed  in  vision  before  the  prophet,  unlike 
anything  he  had  ever  seen  before.  He  had 
no  name  for  it.  He  saw  its  extended  and 
varied  operations,  and  its  wonderful  doings. 
Hence  he  called  it  "  the  living  thing  of  the 
country."  It  is  all  clear  to  us  ;  we  meet  it  in 
our  every  day  experience.  It  is  so  common 
that  it  has  almost  lost  its  novelty,  but  none 
of  its  truthfulness,  as  a  great  realization.  It 
is  the  ai)plication  of  steam  to  macliineryy 
This  unseen,  mighty  power  turns  our  mills, 
rolls  the  wheels  of  commerce,  prints  our  pa- 
pers, furnishes  employment  for  millions.  It 
comes  on  a  mission  of  mercy  to  oxen,  horses, 
and  men,  and  relieves  them  of  the  hard  bond- 
age of  burden-bearers  ;  it  takes  their  place  in 
locomotion  and  transportation.  In  thousands 
of  ways,  it  honors  the  Lord,  in  the  develop- 


200  THE    STOXE    KINGDOM. 

ment  of  the  "wilderness"  wliicli  He  gave  to 
His  people  in  making  it  beautiful  and  to 
blossom  like  tlie  rose.  One  illustrious  ex- 
ample,  showing  how  it  honors  the  Lord,  is  in 
the  buildings  of  the  American  Bible  Society. 
It  strikes  off  the  Word  of  God  with  almost 
incredible  rapidity,  and  that,  too,  in  many 
different  languages,  and  scatters  it  broadcast 
over  the  world.  Thus  in  many  ways  "  the 
living  thing  of  the  country  "  honors  the  Lord. 
"  The  great  serpent,  and  the  daughters  of 
shouting."  This  is  a  graphic  description,  but 
not  more  graphic  than  true,  of  a  long  railroad 
train,  drawn  by  a  hissing,  snorting  locomotive  : 
as  it  glides  along,  bending  with  the  curves  of 
the  road,  it  looks  to  a  distant  spectator  like  a 
great  serpent,  bent  on  some  mission  of  terror. 
In  our  thoroughfares  of  trade,  and  great 
manufacturing  centres,  the  perpetual  noise  of 
screaming  and  yelling  engines  forcefully  re- 
mind us  of  the  proi3het's  description,  "daugh- 
ters of  shouting":  they,  too,  are  honoring 
Him,  and  shout  His  praise  in  various  ways, 
by  developing  the  resources  of  His  land,  and 
building  up  His  people  in  power.  The  words 
translated,    "daughters   of    shouting"    have 


A   ]^EW   TIIITTG.  201 

been  translated  "jackals,  or  wolves,"  also 
"  owls,  and  ostriches. "  There  is  some  reason 
for  this  last  translation,  for  the  word  {yalia- 
nail)  that  means  an  ostrich,  is  identical  with 
the  word  in  the  text,  that  is  derived  from 
the  word  {lianali)  "  to  cry  out,"  "  to  shout." 
The  learned  expositors  came  very  near  the 
meaning,  without  reaching  it.  The  pio^Dhet 
is  here  describing  something  that  he  had 
never  seen  or  heard  before,  by  things  and 
terms  that  were  familiar  and  best  suited  to 
convey  his  meaning.  Dr.  Livingstone,  the 
great  explorer  of  Africa,  says  he  never  could 
distinguish  at  a  distance,  the  roaring  of  an 
ostrich  from  the  roaring  of  a  lion,  only  by  this 
fact,  the  ostrich  roars  in  the  day,  and  the  lion 
roars  at  night.  This  explanation  satisfactorily 
fixes  and  defines  the  prophetic  description  of 
"the  living  thing  of  the  country"  and  "the 
daughters  of  shouting"  to  mean  locomotives, 
and  various  noisy  steam  powers,  as  you  will 
see  presentl}^ 

"  Because  I  have  placed  waters  in  the  waste 
places."  "  Waters,"  in  the  Scriptures,  is  often 
used  as  a  metaphor,  to  represent  multitudes 
of  people.    So  we  think  here  it  aptly  repre- 


202  THE   STONE   KITsTxDOX. 

sents  the  vast  population  that  is  flowing,  and 
will  continue  to  flow,  into  our  great  country  ; 
Avhicli  was  so  long  a  "  waste  place." 

"  Streams  in  the  wilderness."  It  is  not 
{iihariiii)  streams,  currents,  floods  of  water, 
but  {nliarotli)  with  a  feminine  termination, 
signifying  streams  of  various  sorts — streams 
of  population,  streams  of  Avealth,  streams  of 
learning,  and  streams  of  influences  that 
will  make  glad  the  city  of  our  God,  "  for 
the  watering,  or  refreshment  of  my  j^eople 
— my  chosen."  J^otice  the  vast  preparation 
He  has  made  for  His  people,  for  His  chosen : 
that  their  temporal  wants  may  be  abun- 
dantly supplied,  that  His  chosen  may  lay 
aside  forever  their  soiled  and  tattered  gar- 
ments of  exile  and  imprisonment,  and  that 
their  souls  may  be  refreshed  with  the  waters 
of  life,  that  they  may  honor  Him  in  the  sal- 
vation of  men,  and  also  in  the  liberation 
and  elevation  of  the  nations. 

Y.  21.  "  This  people  I  have  formed  for  my- 
self; they  shall  declare  my  praise." 
'^      "  This  people,"  formed  for  the  great  work  of 
glorifying  God,  in  the  development  of   civil 
and  religious  liberty,  for  the  utter  overthrow, 


A  KEW  TJtrma.  203 

and  entire  destruction  of  despotism,  and  po-  / 
litical  slavery,  for  the  promotion  of   human 
freedom  among  the  peoples,  for  the  elevation 
of  the  oppressed  millions  of  earth  to  a  higher 
social,  civil  and  moral  status. 

"  They  shall  declare  my  praise."  This  is 
their  mission — to  declare  the  praise  and  glory 
of  their  great  Master,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  until  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  unite 
in  ascribing  "  Blessing,  and  honor  and  glory 
and  power,  unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever." 
This  seems  clearly  to  be  the  meaning  of  this 
prophecy.  This  is  the  neio  tJdng  that  the  v 
Lord  of  Hosts  would  do.  He  would  restore  ^ 
Israel  to  nationality  "  the  second  time,"  to 
great  honor  and  worldly  power  in  that  *'  far- 
off"  land,  that  had  "  always  been  waste :" 
and  through  its  iniiuence  revolutionize  the 
nations ;  throw  them  out  of  the  old  ruts  of  au- 
tocracy and  non-progress,  and  give  to  the 
tribes  and  peoples  liberty  of  thought,  liberty v 
of  speech,  and  liberty  to  worship  God  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  their  conscience. 

It  is  certainly  no  '^  neio  tiling^'  for  wolves 
to  howl,  for  ostriches  to  run  or  roar,  nor  for 


204  THE   STON"E   KINGDOM. 

owls  to  lioot,  as  some  have  interpreted  a  part 
of  this  prophecy.  Neither  would  it  be  a  new 
tiling  for  rivers  of  waters  to  flow  throngh  the 
wilderness,  where  they  had  been  flowing  for 
thousands  of  years.  There  is  no  "new thing" 
about  this  ;  and  yet  the  Lord  declares,  "  I 
will  do  a  new  thing,"  and  He  meant  wiiat  He 
said,  and  He  has  done  it.  He  has  done  a 
new  thing  on  a  grand  scale,  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  flfth  nationality,  in  the  setting 
up  of  the  Stone  Kingdom,  in  setting  up  Israel 
the  second  time  in  this  "far-off"  land,  that 
He  kept  hid  for  ages.  "  This  people  have  I 
formed  for  myself;  they  shall  declare  my 
praise,"  in  a  manner  never  done  before. 
Through  them,  in  a  great  measure.  He  has 
rolled  back  the  curse  of  Eden.  "  The  living 
^  thing  of  the  country  "  is  honoring  Him  in  a 
thousand  ways  that  cannot  here  be  recounted ; 
but  especially  does  the  "  living  thing  "  furnish 
to  the  peo]3le  astonishingly  rapid  and  easy 
locomotion.  Instead  of  men  and  women 
plodding  on  foot  over  long  and  wearisome 
journeys,  as  in  times  of  old,  we  can  accom- 
plish pleasantly  in  a  few  hours  what  once  re- 
quired weeks  and  months.     Instead  of  the  old 


A   NEW   THING.  205 

stage-coach,  we  now  have  express  trains  drawn 
by  ''  the  living  thing  of  the  country,"  to  carry 
the  mail  and  passengers.  But  greater  yet,  the  ^ 
telegrarph  carries  a  message  around  the  world 
in  a  moment  of  time.  This  work  of  praise  has 
just  begun;  astonishing  things  in  every  de- 
partment have  been  accomplished,  and  vastly 
greater  triumphs  are  just  ahead,  now  laughed 
at  by  fools,  but  soon  to  be  sublimely  realized. 
In  the  agricultural  department  of  "toil  and 
sweat,"  with  the  present  improved  implements 
one  or  two  men  can  do  more  than  a  dozen  in 
times  of  old.  Once  Ruth,  ]N"aomi  and  a  num- 
ber of  others  toiled  for  days  in  the  burning 
sun  of  summer  to  reap  and  bind  the  wheat  in 
the  fields  of  Boaz.  Now*  women  are  spared 
that  pain.  Two  or  three  men  with  a  reaper 
and  binder  drawn  by  horses  or  by  "  the  living 
thing  of  the  country  "  can  accomplish  in  a  few 
hours  what  once  took  all  the  men  and  women 
on  the  plantation  weeks  to  do.  Once  Dorcas 
had  to  toil  with  her  needle  all  day,  and  far 
into  the  "wee  sma'  hours  of  the  night," 
straining  her  eyes  by  the  dim  light  of  a  tallow 
candle ;  now  she  can  do  ten  times  more  work, 
and  ten  times  more  pleasantly,  with  a  sewing- 


206  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

macliine  by  tlie  bright  sunliglit,  and  read  or 
rest  at  night  as  she  may  please. 

Thus  in  numberless  ways  in  these  "  latter 
days "  God  has  given  freedom  from  the 
drudgery  of  toil.  Behold  in  these  and  other 
blessings  the  primal  curse  rolling  back,  as  the 
light  of  the  gospel  advances,  as  liberty  is 
given  to  the  mind  and  men,  as  the  Church 
rises  upon  a  higher  and  wider  plane. 

These  are  some  of  the  "new  things  "  which 
the  Lord  said  He  would  do,  which  He  has 
done  and  is  now  doing,  for  that  people  whom 
He  has  formed  for  Himself,  that  they  might 
more  gloriously  "  declare  His  praise." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  STONE  KINGDOM  A  POLITICAL  POWER. 

"  SHALL  NEVER  DESTROY  ITSELF." 

Confirmed  by  One  of  the  Endings  of  the  "Forty-Two  Months," 
which  Points  with  Exaclncss  to  May  26,  1865,  when  the  Last  of 
the  Confede7'ate  Forces  iva'C  Surrendered. 

^||AN.  ii :  44.  "And  in  the  days  of  these 
•J^^  kings  [/.  e.,  these  ten-toe  kings]  shall 
the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  / 
shall  never  destroy  itself  {Idtlipael)^  and  the 
kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but 
it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  bring  to  an  end 
all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  through 
the  ages." 

Daniel  is  the  only  one  of  all  the  prophets/ 
who  has  given  us  a  chronological  view  of  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the, great  world-powers  from 
his  day  to  the  end  of  time.  He  was  prime 
minister  in  two  of  these — in  the  Babylonian 
and  Medo-Persian.  His  position  through  a 
long  and  changeful  life  eminently  fitted  him, 

207 


208  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

both  as  a  man  and  a  propliet,  to  map  out  the 
great  political  powers  that  should  succeed 
each  other.  It  is  true  the  Church  was  con- 
nected  in  some  way  with  all  these  successive 
kingdoms,  as  the  great  centre  of  attraction  and 
observation.  Daniel  saw  her  oppressed, 
wronged,  martyred,  exiled  and  suffering  un- 
righteously under  all  these  political  domina- 
tions, until  the  Stone  Kingdom,  or  fifth  gov- 
ernment, was  set  up.  He  sympathized  with 
the  Church ;  his  heart  yearned  for  her,  but 
yet  you  can  see  the  influence  of  his  life-long 
education  as  a  statesman  in  the  prominence 
he  gives  to  political  matters.  How  minutely 
he  traces  the  rise  and  fall  of  kingdoms  with 
chronological  accuracy  and  has  mapped  the 
nations,  is  demonstrated  by  subsequent  histo- 
ry. The  Babylonian,  the  Medo-Persian,  the 
Macedonian  and  the  Roman  empires  have  all 
j)assed  away,  and  the  ten-toe  kingdoms  have 
been  standing  for  a  thousand  years. 

''  And  in  the  days  of  these  [ten-toe]  kings 

shall  the  God   of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom 

that  shall  never  destroy  itself."       This  last 

"^  verb  is  not  passive  but  in  the  lililipael  and 

means  "  shall  never  destroy  itself."      All  the 


THE   STONE   KINGDOM.  209 

preceding  kingdoms  had  destroyed  themselves 
by  their  own  weakness  and  wickedness,  bnt 
this  fifth  nationality,  he  foresaw,  would  not  • 
share  the  fate  of  its  predecessors.  The  great 
colossus  with  its  golden  head,  with  its  arms 
and  breast  of  silver,  with  its  belly  and  thighs 
of  brass,  with  its  legs  of  iron,  and  with  its  feet 
and  toes  of  iron  and  clay,  Daniel  interprets 
to  be  different  political  governments,  and  the 
history  of  the  world  confirms  the  truthfulness 
of  his  interpretation.  So  also  the  stone  cut/ 
out  of  the  mountain  without  hands  must  sym- 
bolize a  political  government  different  from 
all  the  rest  as  stone  is  different  from  metal. 
This  must  be  the  true  interpretation,  for  it  is 
to  crush  and  to  destroy  with  great  political 
and  military  power  all  these  other  kingdoms. 
It  is  to  be  hurled  against  them  like  a  tornado 
with  the  destructiveness  and  enginery  of  bat- 
tle till  they  be  driven  away  from  the  earth 
like  chaff  from  the  summer  threshing-floors. 
This  clothes  the  Stone  with  terrible  military  v/ 
and  political  power.  Again,  since  Daniel  gave 
a  view  of  all  the  great  political  powers  from 
his  day  to  the  end  of  time,  and  since  the 
Stone,  the  last  in  the  series,  has  a  revolution- 


210  THE    STOXE    KINGDOM. 

izing,  over  thro  win  c^  and  destroying  power,  it 
must  also  be  political  in  its  organization. 

''  This  great  image  whose  brightness  was 
excellent  and  the  form  thereof  was  terrible," 
was  metallic  and  represented  all  of  monarchy 
and  autocracy  that  would  ever  exist  on  the 
earth.  The  Stone  was  constituted  of  an  entire- 
ly different  mineral  and  symbolized  an  entire- 
ly different  kind  of  government,  as  has  been 
,shown.  It  symbolizes  a  government  of  repre- 
sentative republicanism.  Also  the  time  of  its 
rise  "in  the  days.of  these  [ten-toe]  kings"  is 
specially  mentioned  and  corresponds  exactly 
with  the  setting  up  of  the  United  States.  Also 
this  wonderful  providential  government  which 
was  cut  out  of  the  mountain  of  Christianity, 
that  the  God  of  nations  hath  Himself  "  set 
up,"  is  astonishingly  demonstrated  to  be  the 
United  States  by  its  corresponding  history. 

The  next  great  truth  to  which  special  atten- 
tion is  invited,  is  that  the  Stone  government 
"  shall  never  destroy  itself,  and  the  kingdom 
shall  not  be  left  to  other  people."  This  is 
different  from  all  other  kingdoms  and  govern- 
^  ments.  They  have  risen,  have  flourished 
awhile,  and  have  fallen,  and  have  been  left  to 


THE   STOXE    KINGDOM.  211 

other  j)eople.  There  is  no  exception  to  this 
universal  ruk^  found  in  tlie  history  of  the  ages. 
All  the  nations  of  the  past,  like  men,  have  had 
''a  time  to  be  born  and  a  time  to  die  :"  not  so  ^ 
with  the  Stone  Kingdom.  It  had  a  time  to  be 
born  specially  marked  and  pointed  to,  and  it 
was  born  on  the  exact  day  and  year  foretold 
by  the  prophets  :  but  it  is  to  have  no  end,  as 
other  nations  have  ended  ;  "  it  shall  never  be 
destroyed."  Ancient  Israel  destro3^ed  itself 
by  wickedness,  by  secession  and  division,  and 
passed  away  Avlien  its  work  was  accomplish- 
ed, but  Israel  restored  must  enlarge  and  ex- 
pand until  all  the  nations  have  been  brought 
under  its  benign  influence.  Its  march  is  ever^ 
onward  and  upward.  Its  mission,  through  the  ^ 
gospel,  is  to  give  civil  and  religious  liberty 
to  the  nations  and  freedom  to  the  peoples, 
also  truth  and  light  for  su|)erstition  and  spir- 
itual darkness.  The  Stone  Kingdom  is  the  ^ 
United  States,  and  as  its  course,  as  marked 
out  by  the  prophets,  is  ever  in  the  ascendant, 
reaching  on  from  conquest  to  conquest,  not  so 
much  with  garments  rolled  in  blood  as  with 
the  olive-branch  of  peace  bestowing  upon  the 
nations  liberty,  happiness  and  truth,  we  can- 


212  THE    STOI^TE    KIT^GDOM. 

not  detect  in  its  course  with  the. largest  pro- 
phetic glasses  any  declination. 

"  But  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  take 
the  kingdom  and  possess  the  kingdom  forev- 
er, even  for  ever  and  ever."  This  much  we 
^  know,  the  Stone  Kingdom  "  shall  never  de- 
stroy itself "  l)y  secession.  That  terrible  ex- 
periment has  been  made  at  a  loss  of  a  million 
of  men,  according  to  the  estimates  of  Horace 
Greeley  and  Alexander  Stephens,  and  eight 
thousand  millions  of  dollars.  And,  as  a  dying 
soldier  asked  at  the  lirst  great  battle  of  Ma- 
nassas, "  What  was  all  this  for  ?"  We  for- 
bear to  answer.  But  we  know  it  is  written  in 
God's  eternal  plan  tliat  this  Stone  government 
"  shall  never  destroy  itself,  and  the  kingdom 
shall  not  be  left  to  other  people."  Our  country 

V  needs  to  be  cleansed  and  purged  of  much  in- 
dwelling wickedness  and  corruption,  both  po- 
litical and  civil ;  it  must  be  done,  and  will  be 
done,  however  drastic  the  medicine.     But  woe 

^  to  the  man,  or  to  the  party,  that  attempts  its 
destruction,  or  wars  against  the  perpetuity  of 
this  government :  terrible  remedies  may  be 
necessary  for  its  purification  and  healthful- 
ness,  but  never  an  effort  for  its  destruction  ; 


THE   STON^E   KIIS^GDOM.  213 

such  will  be  warring  against  tlie  providence 
of  God,  and  that  providence  will  be  too  strong 
for  them.  Let  ns  see  what  emphasis  facts  and 
figures  can  give  to  these  Scripture  truths 
about  the  perpetuity  of  the  Stone  govern- 
ment. 

We  have  shown  in  a  former  chapter  that 
"  from  the  taking  away  of  the  daily  sacrifice," 
to  the  setting  up  of  this  government,  was  ex- 
actly 1,260  symbolic  years.  This  is  an  indis- 
putable identification.  We  have  shown  in 
another  place,  from  the  flight  of  the  woman 
into  the  wilderness,  "  where  she  is  nourished 
for  a  time,  times,  and  an  half,"  that  her  wil- 
derness sojourn  began  on  the  17th  June  A.  D. 
325,  and  ended  after  1,260  symbolic  days,  on 
July  4,  1776.  This  is  another  indisputable 
identification. 

The  42  months  that  the  holy  city  shall  be 
trodden  under  foot,  is  an  expression  of  "  the 
time,  times,  and  an  half."  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  all  these  periods  have  several  dif- 
ferent endings,  pointing  to  different  great 
events.  We  now  desire  to  call  attention  to 
one  of  the  endings,  or  rather  to  one  of  the 
fingers  of  the  42  months  that  points  to  one  cf 


214  THE   STOT^E   KIl^GDOM. 

the  greatest  events  in  our  political  history — 
to  the  close  of  the  war  between  the  States — to 
the  last  surrender ;  when  the  Stone  with  all 
its  parts  was  united  again.  Let  us  count  and 
see  whither  the  divine  index  points.  By  add- 
ing Sabbath-day  time,  to  42  months,  or  i, 
we  have  49 — then  add  other  sacred  time  of 
3  months,  and  we  have  52  months — corres- 
ponding to  the  52  weeks  in  a  year.  These 
52  months  have  30  days  each,  making  1,560. 
Now  70  weeks — the  key  to  all  these  '*  times  " 
and  "  years  "—or,  490  divided  into  1,560  gives 
us  3-/9.  A  Hebrew  year  of  3^ears  is  364  multi- 
plied by  364,— equal  to  132,496  :  add  to  this  } 
for  Sabbatic  time,  then  add  to  that  result  i  for 
Sabbath-day  time,  and  we  have  176,661^.  This 
is  one  symbolic  "  time  " — then  multiply  this 
"  time  "  by  3-4-9,  and  we  have  562,432  days. 
This  reduced  gives  1,539  years  and  324  days. 
The  student  must  remember  that  the  Julian 
Calendar,  which  is  still  in  use  in  the  Russian 
Empire,  and  was  in  use  in  all  Europe  until 
1582,  makes  the  civil  year  11  minutes  longer 
than  the  solar  j^ear,  which  now  amounts  to 
about  12  days  too  much,  and  must  be  sub- 
tracted from  the  previous  result,  which  leaves 


THE   ST01S"E   KINGDOM.  215 

in  solar  time  1,539  years  and  312  days ;  or,  in 
months,  it  will  be  November  9.  A  fraction  of 
a  day  is  counted  a  whole  day.  The  reader 
will  remember  that  A.  D.  325,  June  17,  was 
the  day  when  Church  and  State  were  united, 
was  the  time  when  the  woman  lied  into  the 
wilderness,  and  the  time  from  which  these 
42  symbolic  months,  or  1,260  days  are  counted. 
The  reader  will  also  remember  that  the  iirst 
ending  of  these  42  months,  has  been  shown 
in  a  previous  chapter  to  be  on  July  4,  1776, 
the  birthday  of  our  nation  ;  and  the  second 
ending  points  to  some  other  great  event,  fur- 
ther on,  in  our  national  history.  'Now  to 
A.  D.  325,  June  17,  add  1,539  years  and  312 
days,  or  IS'ovember  9,  and  we  have  exactly 
A.  D.  1865,  May  26.  This  is  the  second  end- 
ing of  these  42  months,  and  points  to  the' 
second  great  event  in  the  history  of  the  Stone 
kingdom — to  the  very  year  and  day,  when 
Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith  surrendered  the  last  of 
the  Confederate  forces  to  Gen.  R.  S.  Canb}^  of 
the  Federal  army.  On  that  day  the  Stone  was 
no  longer  divided  ;  on  that  day  prophecy  had 
a  wonderful  fulfillment ;  and  the  truthfulness 
of  the  divine  programme  was  confirmed  before 


216  THE    STOI^^E   KIN"GDOM. 

tlie  eyes  of  tlie  nations.  These  figures  are 
startling,  and  the  facts  revealed  are  aston- 
ishingly sublime.  This  great  colossus  of 
prophecy  stands  in  the  dignity  and  eloquence 
of  silence,  with  eyes  fixed,  looking  across  the 
ages,  and  with  his  arm  outstretched,  and  his 
finger  pointing  to  May  26,  A.  D.  1865,  and  yet 
he  speaks  not  a  word,  but  with  a  look  of 
warning  and  re2:)roof,  he  reminds  us  of  what 
had  been  spoken  ages  since,  the  government 
"  shall  never  destroy  itself,  the  kingdom  shall 
not  be  left  to  other  people."  Thus  these 
figures  and  facts  have  given  a  powerful  em- 
phasis to  the  truthfulness  of  God's  word, 
which     declares     that    the     Stone    kingdom 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

OUR  COUNTRY  AFTER  THE  PROPHETIC 
PATTERN. 

And  What  our  Rulers  Ought  to  Do. 

"Ij^OIl  tlius  saitli  the  Lord  God,  Behold  I, 
•jEfe  even  I,  will  both  search  my  sheep,  and 
seek  them  out  as  a  shepherd  seeketh  out  his 
flock  in  the  day  that  he  is  among  his  sheep 
that  are  scattered ;  so  will  I  seek  out  my 
sheep,  and  deliver  them  out  of  all  places 
where  they  have  been  scattered,  in  the  cloudy 
and  dark  day.  And  I  will  bring  them  out 
from  the  people,  and  gather  them  from  the 
countries,  and  will  bring  them  to  their  oion 
land,  and  feed  them  uj)on  the  mountains  of 
Israel,  by  the  rivers,  and  in  all  the  inhabited 
places  of  the  country."  This  is  their  oion 
land  that  the  Lord  had  ''  kept  hid  "  through 
the  ages,  so  that,  ''in  the  latter  days"  He 
should  "  set  them  up  a  second  time,"  or  re- 
store His  Israel,  in  the  fifth  nationality,  for 
217 


218  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

the  conquest  of  the  world  for  King  Jesus.  "  I 
will  feed  them  in  a  good  pasture,  and  upon 
the  high  mountains  shall  their  fold  be :  there 
shall  they  lie  in  a  good  fold,  and  in  a  fat  pasture 
shall  they  feed  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel. 
I  will  feed  my  flock,  and  I  will  cause  them  to 
lie  down,  saith  the  Lord  God.""  Ezek.  xxxiv: 
24  ;  xxxvii :  21  ;  xxxviii  :  8. 

In  this  little  volume  I  have  called  atten- 
tion to  a  few  of  those  marked  and  wonderful 
prophecies  that  point  to  and  describe  our 
country,  as  the  land  of  Israel's  restoration  ; 
to  those  prophecies  that  have  been  fulfilled, 
or  are  now  being  fulfilled,  with  astonishing 
accuracy  ;  and  to  those  prophecies  that  never 
can  have  their  fulfillment  in  any  other  land  on 
earth ;  for  no  other  land  corresponds  so  per- 
fectly with  the  prophetic  description  as  this, 
even  as  the  shadow  fits  the  substance.  The 
t^  time  of  the  rise  of  our  country  coincides  ex- 
actly with  the  time  mentioned  by  Daniel  and 
John.  Its  geography,  boundary  and  division 
into  thirteen  States,  at  its  birth,  coincide  ex- 
actly with  the  description  given  by  Ezekiel. 
The  direction  of  this  promised  land,  from  old 


OUR   COUNTRY.  210 

Palestine,  lies  exactly  in  tlie  conrse  pointed 
ont  by  Isaiali.  And  the  land  lie  described  as 
"  sliadowing  with  wings,"  and  having  a  people, 
wlien  discovered,  that  were  "  tall  and  naked, 
and  terrible  from  their  beginning,  and  far 
away,"  coincides  exactly  with  the  geography 
and  aboriginal  history  of  the  two  Americas. 
Here  in  this  land  of  the  Stone,  a  multitnde  of 
prophecies  have  a  perfect  fullillment.  Even  to 
enumerate  them  would  be  tedious,  and  to  re- 
capitulate, would  be  like  telling  the  story  over. 
There  are  scores  of  other  prophecies  that  re- 
late to  this  country,  many  of  which  have  been 
fulfilled ;  and  many  that  are  exceedingly  glori- 
ous, point  to  periods  further  on  in  our  history  ; 
but  as  they  belong  to  the  future,  we  say  nothing 
about  them :  their  exposition  will  be  given  in 
God's  own  time.  We  have  endeavored  to  write 
about  facts  and  only  those  prophecies  that 
have  been  realized,  so  that,  in  contending  for 
the  truthfulness  of  our  expositions,  we  would 
be  able  to  point  to  the  prophecy  as  the  shadow, 
and  to  our  country  as  its  substance,  and  show 
their  divine  fitness,  their  perfect  coincidence, 
and,  of  course,  perfect  fulfillment.  When  the 
reader    has    finished    these   pages,  I  protest 


220  THE   STONE   KINGDOM. 

against  his  saying,  "  it  is  an  ingenious  work," 
because  such  a  criticism  doubts  the  truthful- 
ness of  God's  word,  and  tlie  wonderfulness  of 
His  providence.  When  tlie  Lord  lias  declared 
a  series  of  prophecies,  extending  through  thou- 
sands of  years,  and  then,  in  His  own  time,  and 
by  His  own  providence,  fulhlls  these  prophe- 
cies, and  when  a  servant  shows  their  fulfill- 
ment to  his  countrymen,  shoukl  that  expo- 
sition be  called  ingenious  ?     Should  we  not 

^rather  admire  the  wonderful  works  of  God, 
whose  sleepless  providence  fills  the  eternal 
programme  minutely,  even  from  the  falling  of 
a  sparrow  to  the  rising  and  falling  of  king- 
doms and  nations,  exactly  in  their  appointed 
times ;  that  our  faith  may  be  strengthened, 
and  our  hearts  encouraged.     We  must  throw 

\lour  prejudice  to  the  winds,  and  bow  before 
the  God  of  truth,  however  astonishing  His 
truth  may  be,  or  however  wonderful  His  ways. 
"Let  God  be  true,  though  every  man  be  a 
liar." 

Since  this  is  the  land  where  Israel  is  "  set 

up  the  second  time,"  and  since  the  evidence  of 

this  great  fact  is  so  manifold  and  indisputable, 

v  it  behooves  the  people  of  God,  who  are  Israel- 


OUR   COUNTRY.  221 

ites  indeed,  to  "  arise  and  build  tlie  walls  " 
of  the  spiritual  Jerusalem  ;  for  Sanballat,  To- 
biali  and  Gesliem  are  here,  with  all  their  forces, 
to  oppose  and  hinder  the  work.  Let  every 
man  of  Israel,  who  is  "  a  soldier  of  God," 
gird  on  the  sword  of  the  Spirit;  yea,  let  him 
put  on  the  whole  armor  of  the  Gospel,  and  go 
forth  to  the  conflict,  "  for  the  work  is  great." 
Intidelity,  false  philosophy,  and  all  sorts  of^^ 
error  must  be  overthrown.  Millions  among 
us  need  ''  tlie  washing  of  regeneration,  and 
the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  time 
has  come  when  truth  and  righteousness  should 
unfurl  their  banner  on  all  the  high  places  of 
our  country.  The  destiny  of  the  world  is^ 
placed  in  our  hands,  according  to  the  divine 
programme.  Then  let  the  light  of  truth,  re-  / 
ligious  and  political,  shine  forth  with  increas- 
ing brightness  on  this  generation  and  upon 
those  that  follow. 

I  hope  it  will  not  be  considered  impertinent 
or  presumptuous  to  speak  a  word  to  the  rulers 
of  our  country  ;  to  all  those  Avho  are  ''in  au- 
thority," from  the  highest  to  the  lowest ;  to  all 
who  have  charge  of  the  aifairs  of  government. 
The  long  looked- for  "  Stone  has  been  cut  out 


222  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

of  the  mountain  without  hands."  "  The  an- 
cient of  days "  has  come,  and  its  political 
authority  has  been  restored  on  a  vastly  larger 
scale.  These  graphic  symbols  of  the  fifth 
nationality,  are,  and  are  yet  further  to  be,  re- 
alized in  the  United  States.  This  government 
is  to  expand  in  territory  and  to  develop  in 
power,  until  its  glorious  mission  has  been 
fully  accomplished.  We  will  not  dweil  upon 
that  part  which  is  not  yet  realized  ;  it  has 
been  minutely  delineated  by  the  prophets  ; 
and  God's  providence  will  fit  the  substance  to 
the  shadow,  "  in  its  time."  This  great  pro- 
phetic country  is  yours — God  has  given  it  to 
you ;  and  you  are  its  rulers.  It  is  your  prov- 
ince to  make  its  laws,  and  it  is  yours  to  exe- 
cute them.  More  than  twent}^  centuries  are 
looking  down  upon  you,  with  unabated  inter- 
est, to  see  into  what  manner  of  people  and 
government  you  will  be  developed.  And  as 
yours  is,  and  is  to  be,  the  highest  type  of  na- 
tional develoi3ment  the  world  has  ever  had,  or 
ever  Avill  have,  your  every  step  in  the  march 
of  progress  will  be  closely  scrutinized  by  the 
nations.  Hence  it  behooves  you  to  cling  to 
eternal  justice   and  right;  justice   in  legis- 


OUR   COUNTRY.  223 

lation,  and  righteousness  in  the  execution  of 
law,  as  the  sheet-anchor  of  your  safety.  Then 
will  "  mercy  and  truth  meet  together,  right- 
eousness and  peace  will  kiss  each  other." 
There  are  certain  great  wrongs  that  demand  / 
righting  by  your  hands,  as  rulers  in  the  Stone 
government. 

1st.  Great  crimes  too  often  go  linpunlslied^ 
especially  where  gold  is  the  defense  of  the 
criminal.  This  is  a  great  wrong  to  the  State 
and  to  society,  for  it  is  a  license  to  crime  ;  its 
tendency  is  to  lawlessness  and  bloody  revo- 
lution. The  only  remedy  to  secure  an  abso- 
lutely impartial  and  righteous  administration 
of  law,  is  for  the  people  to  return  to  the  an- 
cient custom  of  electing  all  judges  for  life, . 
or  during  good  behavior  ;  and  require  merit 
alone  to  be  the  elective  qualihcation.  Then 
the  argument  of  votes  can  have  no  weight  in 
the  decision  of  causes,  or  power  to  pervert 
justice.  When  great  crimes  go  unpunished, 
and  the  people  submit  to  these  wrongs  without 
protest,  they  thereby  become  ijarticeps  crjmi- 
nis.  Then  the  whole  community,  or  State, 
thus  sympathizing  with  crime,  becomes  rij)e 
for  pestilence,  famine,  or  some  terrible  pun- 


224  THE    STOXE    KINGDOM. 

isliment,  as  a   righteous  visitation  of   provi 
deuce. 

2iid.  The  Sabbath  law  is  too  seldom  en- 
forced. This  is  a  great  wrong  to  the  State. 
The  God  of  hiw  reserved  the  Sabbatli  for 
Himself,  and  the  man  who  appropriates  that 
lioly  day  to  his  unholy  purposes  is  guilty  of 
robbery.  If  a  man  plows  on  the  Sabbath  day 
he  is  liable  to  be  indicted  :  but  a  hundred  rail- 
road trains  may  go  thundering  along  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  disturb  religious  worship,  and 
destroy  the  quiet  and  peace  of  the  holy  day. 
And  besides  all  this  these  thoroughfares  of 
traffic  and  travel  keep  one  million  of  men  from 
going  to  church  on  the  Sabbath  by  their  cease- 
less occupation,  and  thereby  damage  the 
morals  of  the  country  ;  and  yet  these  railroad 
magnates  and  officials  are  not  indicted  for 
their  accumulated  violation  of  law.  Also  the 
country  through  which  these  Sabbath-break- 
ing railroads  run,  by  submitting  to,  and  aid- 
ing and  abetting  in  this  wrong,  become  parti 
ceps  Griminis.  All  those  countries  that  have 
despised  and  desecrated  the  Sabbath,  have 
sooner  or  later  brought  upon  themselves  the 
curse  of  heaven,  as  the  history  of  ancient  Is- 


OUR   COUNTRY,  235 

rael  and  other  nations  abundantly  testifies. 
Tlie  Lord  will  not  allow  His  Sabbaths  to  be 
trampled  npon  with  impunity.  Works  of  ne- 
cessity and  mercy  are  all  right ;  but  the  con- 
stant violation  of  the  Sabbath  is  all  wrong. 
And  since  this  is  to  be  the  great  model 
country  for  the  nations,  our  rulers  should 
rectify  this  wrong  before  some  terrible  curse 
befalls  us.  For  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  is 
the  God  of  all  forces,  and  He  will  punish 
guilty  nations,  as  well  as  guilty  men,  for  the 
willful  violation  of  His  law. 

3rd.  The  general  Gfovernment  and  State  au- 
thorities license  the  manufacture  and  pro- 
miscuous sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 

This  is  a  great  national  wrong,  authorized 
by  law.  A  horrible  sin  against  heaven  and 
humanity  legalized.  The  drink-shops  all  over 
the  land  are  the  altars  to  Baal,  which  Jero- 
boam hath  set  up  to  turn  away  the  heart  of 
Israel  from  the  service  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 
And  the  600,000  drunkards  in  our  land,  are 
finished  jobs,  out  on  exhibition.  About  75,000 
die  annually,  and  go  out  in  disgrace.  But  the 
recruits  are  more  than  the  slain.  Think  of 
the  oaths  and  blasphemies  and  profane  bab- 


226  THE    STONE    KINGDOM. 

Mings  that  ascend  from  these  altars  of  Baal, 
like  the  smoke  of  the  bottomless  pit:  also 
think  of  the  wail  of  woe  constantly  ascending 
from  countless  widows  and  orphans  and 
desolated  homes.  But  I  will  not  enlarge. 
The  evil  is  enormous,  and  on  the  increase.  It 
not  only  destroys  the  soul,  but  it  damages 
society,  and  the  best  interests  of  the  State. 
Also  the  rulers  of  the  country  should  remem- 
ber that  they  are  shaping  a  government  that 
is  to  be  a  pattern  for  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  sooner  or  later.  This  is  the  divine  pro- 
^  gramme  of  the  Stone,  the  great  Christian  re- 
publican government  that  is  "to  fill  the  whole 
earth,"  This  tlien  being  the  heaven-appointed 
mission  of  our  nation,  it  behooves  our  rulers 
to  right  these  great  wrongs  which  bring  and 
will  bring  a  blasting  and  a  curse  upon  our 
people.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States 
have  the  interest  and  well-being  of  this  nation 
in  their  hands,  and  whatever  opposes  its  well- 
being  should  be  removed.  The  promiscuous 
sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  is  op^Dosed  to  the 
well-being  of  our  country — it  is  an  immeasur- 
able curse,  and  ought  to  be  removed.  This 
can  be  most  effectively  done  by  congressional 


V 


OUR   COUT^TEY.  227 

legislation  ;  by  prohibiting  the  manufacture 
and  sale  of  distilled,  intoxicating  liquors  in 
the  United  States.  Then  make  the  violation 
of  this  law  a  felony  ;  because  it  involves  the 
life  and  happiness  of  millions.  The  good  '^ 
people  of  the  land  will  sustain  such  a  law, 
and  demand  its  enforcement.  Tliese  are  some 
of  the  many  wrongs  that  your  superior  wis- 
dom must  grapple  with  and  remove.  The 
rulers  of  all  countries  have  great  responsi-  . 
bilities,  but  yours  are  vastly  greater,  because 
of  the  part  you  play  in  the  drama  of  nations, 
and  because  of  your  matchless  destiny,  as 
written  by  the  prophets.  Therefore  "  Be 
strong  and  quit  yourselves  like  men,"  *'  and 
keep  the  charge  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  to  walk 
in  His  ways,  to  keep  His  statutes  and  His 
commandments."  ''And  who  knoweth  whether 
thou  art  come  to  the  kingdom,  for  such  a  time 
as  this."  "That  search  may  be  made  in  the 
book  of  the  records  "  of  the  nations,  and  they 
"  shall  tell  thee  what  thou  oughtest  to  do." 

A  word  of  exhortation  to  the  citizens  of  our 
country  may  here  be  in  order.  Since  the 
whole  is  made  up  of  all  its  parts,  and  since 
each  citizen  forms  a  part  of  the  Stone  king- 


228  THE   STONE    KIlvrGDOM. 

dom,  and  must  assist  in  giving  it  its  fore- 
ordained impetus,  in  order  to  accomplisli  its 
great  mission :  and  since  your  lot  has  fallen 
in  Israel  Restored,  in  tlie  fifth  nationality,  that 
should  arise  "  in  the  latter  days,"  spoken  of 
by  the  prophets,  upon  whom  the  eyes  of  the 
world  are  now  turned,  "  what  manner  of  per- 
sons ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation 
and  godliness."  It  is  yours  to  beget  and 
cherish  a  sound  and  virtuous  public  sentiment 
'on  all  matters  of  government  and  social  life. 

/For  the  government  of  the  Stone  is  of  the 
people,  and  proceeds  from  the  people,  and 
since  a  stream  cannot  rise  higher  than  its 
source,   it  is   necessary   that    the   people   be 

^  truthful  and  virtuous  ;  then  their  rulers  will  be 
compelled  to  reflect  their  sentiments,  by  the 

'  enactment  of  virtuous  laws  ;  then  our  statute 
books  will  be  pure  and  white,  a  bright  reflec- 
tion of  righteousness,  justice  and  truth.    How 

^  glorious  will  be  that  end — and  it  will  certainl}^- 
be  attained — in  comparison  with  tlie  statute- 
books  of  to-day,  whose  leaves  are  pure  and 
white  indeed,  except  here  and  there  are  pages 
as  black  as  hell,  while  others  are  of  a  darkish 
gray,  on  which  are  written  legal  compromises 


OU.l    COITNTRY.  229 

witli  sin.  While  necessity,  dressed  in  the 
livery  of  heaven,  stands  witli  saintly  bearing, 
and  pleads  the  part  of,  and  oifers  excuses  for 
legalized  crime,  these  black  pages  must  be 
washed  and  made  white  and  clean,  and  the 
people  alone  can  have  it  done.  And,  thank 
God,  from  the  signs  of  the  times,  the  washing 
day  is  near  at  hand  when  it  will  be  done. 
Already  the  people  are  groaning  under  a  bur- 
den of  wrong — physical  and  moral  Avrongs — 
and  are  longing  to  have  all  their  laws  the 
counterpart  of  eternal  truth  and  right.  Your 
statutes,  like  common  law,  should  be  the  ex- 
pression of  justice  and  righteousness,  and 
when  they  are  less  than  this,  the  people  are 
particeps  crlmmls^  and  are  guilty  of  the 
crimes  legalized.  But  as  light  and  truth  be- 
come brighter  and  purer  among  the  people  by 
increased  intelligence,  legislation  will  be  cor- 
respondingly improved.  Therefore  trim  the 
lamps  of  learning,  and  ''  let  there  be  light," 
both  to  head  and  heart.  The  necessity  for 
a  steady  growth,  for  constant  development 
and  improvement  in  all  things,  social  and 
civil,  is  manifest  from  your  divinely-marked 
destiny :    for  your    country    must    have   the 


230  THE   STONE    KINGDOM. 

^lieadsliip  of  tlie  world,  i.  e.,  it  must  give  to 
the  nations  a  model  government,  where  the 
people  shall  be  free,  and  Christ  alone  shall  be 
king.  ISTot  only  will  this  country  have  such  a 
government,  and  offer  such  for  adoption  to  the 
nations,  that  they  may  enjoy  civil  and  re- 
ligions liberty  to  the  full,  but  it  will  compel 

■^the  nations  to  adopt  a  representative  republi- 
can government,  by  the  power  of  moral  sua- 
sion, or  otherwise ;  for  "  the  Stone  must  fill 
the  whole  earth."  In  confirmation  of  this 
great  truth,  we  know  from  the  signs  of  the 
times,  and  from  God's  revealed  plan  of  pro- 
,  cedure,  that  monarchy  shall  be  driven  away 
from  the  world,  ''  and  no  place  will  be  found 

^  for  it."  This  then  being  3^our  high  destiny,  it 
becomes  the  duty  of  each  and  every  citizen  to 
perform  faithfully  the  work  assigned  him, 
socially,  politically  and  religiousl}^  A  strange 
and  wonderful  providence  has  presided  over 
the  birth,  and  directed  the  amazing  develo]3- 
ments  of  our  country  up  to  the  present  mo- 
ment.    And  we   are   assured  that   the   same 

^  pro^^idence  will  direct  the  affairs  of  our 
country  "  through  the  ages,"  and  all  along 
their   widening   and  ascending   scale,  to    the 


OUK    COUl^TRY.  231 

exact  and  glorious  fiiHillment  of  the  Stone's 
wonderful  mission.  And  now  may  the  citi- 
zens of  these  United  States  realize  that  they 
are  indeed  ''  that  happy  people  whose  God  is 
the  Lord,"  and  direct  their  steps  accordingly. 
To  this  "let  all  the  people  say, 


^ff«1 


Date  Due 


ji»«*«Ofc'*'*'W*^*f^vW 


IN  U.  S.  A. 


